Iran-US Talks to Begin in Switzerland on Sunday, Pakistan and Qatar to Join as Mediators
Talks between the United States and Iran aimed at securing a lasting peace between the two countries will begin Sunday in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
“As a follow-up to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, technical-level talks will be held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Pakistani and Qatari mediators would take part in the discussions alongside US and Iranian representatives.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this week, Washington and Tehran have 60 days to resolve several outstanding issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and its stockpile of enriched uranium. The ministry reiterated that “representatives of the United States and Iran, along with Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, will participate in the discussions,” and said Islamabad would continue facilitating the process in its role as mediator to advance the understandings reached under the agreement.
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US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are already in Switzerland ahead of the talks, while Vice President JD Vance said he could join them in the coming days. “I expect that I will leave some time the next couple of days, but, you know, it’s always a delicate coordination dance,” Vance told Fox News earlier in the day, adding that negotiations were going well. He said Kushner and Witkoff were on the ground handling “some of the technical elements” of the talks and had reported that things were progressing smoothly. Vance had previously postponed a trip planned for talks scheduled on Friday, which were called off.
Separately, Iranian state media reported that an Iranian negotiating team was en route to Switzerland. The report cited Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, who warned that the agreement was “in trouble.”