US-Iran negotiations set for Sunday in Switzerland

Pakistan said negotiations between the United States and Iran are scheduled to begin Sunday in Switzerland, reviving talks that were delayed after Tehran objected to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The meeting matters because it is meant to start technical discussions on a final US-Iran agreement after an interim memorandum set a 60-day target for a broader deal.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Pakistani and Qatari mediators will join the talks at the Burgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne, Al Jazeera and The Associated Press reported. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said Saturday that an Iranian delegation was travelling to Switzerland, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials.

In Washington, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland dealing with technical issues tied to expected talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Vance said he expected to travel to Switzerland “sometime in the next couple of days,” while describing the timing as a “delicate coordination dance.”

The Sunday session follows a memorandum of understanding signed electronically earlier in the week by both sides, Al Jazeera reported. The memorandum declared a permanent halt to “military operations on all fronts,” including in Lebanon, and said a final agreement should be completed within 60 days, with an extension possible if both sides agree.

The talks had been planned for Friday but were postponed after Iran did not send its delegation, Al Jazeera reported. Tehran linked the delay to continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s civil defence and state media said Israeli attacks continued Saturday and killed at least 32 people, according to Al Jazeera. Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks on Friday killed 83 people and wounded 141.

Israel agreed Friday to a renewed ceasefire with Hezbollah, Al Jazeera reported, but strikes in Lebanon continued into Saturday. Iran has treated the continued bombardment as a breach of the interim understanding, Al Jazeera’s James Bays reported from Burgenstock.

Strait of Hormuz restrictions return

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Saturday it was restoring restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon and what it called a US failure to meet ceasefire commitments, Al Jazeera reported. The IRGC warned ship crews not to approach the waterway and said their safety would be at risk if they did.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said the flow of energy in the Middle East would stop as long as the US-Iran agreement “remains only on paper,” according to Al Jazeera.

The US military said its forces remained in the “general area” of the Strait of Hormuz and were “present and vigilant” to ensure the agreement with Iran was followed, Al Jazeera reported. The military said 55 commercial vessels passed through the strait Saturday and that safe passage remained “intact.”

Mediators press ahead

Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid reported from Burgenstock that diplomatic contacts had intensified before the formal negotiations. He said Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, had already held meetings, while Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been in talks in Egypt and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Iran.

Baghaei, in comments broadcast by Iran’s IRIB, said Iran must be “very firm and serious” in demanding that obligations be met, citing what he called past US failures to honour commitments. Al Jazeera’s Bays reported that the situation appeared to be moving backward from the signing of the memorandum, with Iran using the Strait of Hormuz restrictions to pressure parties over southern Lebanon.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.