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⚡️ Talks set to take place in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, looked in doubt on Friday due to Israel’s constant attacks on Lebanon, which violated a clause of the Memorandum of Understanding that had been virtually signed between President Trump and President Pezeshkian this week.
🔹 However, Qatar seemed to know something everyone else didn’t, making their way to Switzerland on Friday, followed soon after by a Pakistan delegation that arrived on Friday night.
🔹 Israel continued their attempts to capture the Ali al-Taher heights in Lebanon on Friday night, with several strikes around the Nabatieh area attempting to route out Hezbollah operatives, with images showing various illuminating munitions and phosphorous bombs.
🔹 On Saturday morning, the attacks appeared to have all-but stopped in southern Lebanon, as Israeli media and officials quickly claimed that due to the failed attempts, all activity around the Ali al-Taher heights would be suspended, but the forces were to remain in southern Lebanon and would act on immediate risks, and due to this announcement, the Iranian delegation made their way to Switzerland.
🔹 Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis welcomed counterpart Abbas Araghchi to Switzerland ahead of the talks, saying: “In a challenging context, the relationship of trust between Switzerland and Iran, reflected on our protecting power mandate, remains in the service of diplomacy, and for peace and security in the Middle East.”
ISRAEL WITHDRAW FORCES IN LEBANON:
⚡️ Maybe in compliance with article 1 of the Memorandum, Israeli officials told Israel Hayom the military were considering recommending the repositioning of forces along more defensible sections of the Blue Lines, following claims the Israeli Army had completed operations at the Ali al-Taher ridge, and also destroyed Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure in the Beaufort Castle area.
US DELEGATION EVENTUALLY TRAVEL:
⚡️ Vice President JD Vance’s office said on Friday night that the trip to Switzerland had been temporarily postponed due to ‘logistical reasons,’ but footage later showed the VP taking off from Andrews Joint Air Force Base, and later landed in Switzerland.
PHOTO OP REJECTED:
⚡️ On Sunday morning, the Iranian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, attended the Swiss negotiating centre, along with the US delegation led by VP Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as a very rare photo captured Vance and Araghchi in the same room.
⚡️ Tasnim News were told that by a source close to Iran’s negotiating team that the Iranian delegation rejected a proposal by the US officials and meeting organisers for a handshake and joint photo opportunity at the start of the talks, while footage showed the delegation appear to walk past the waiting media.
⚡️ Araghchi and the negotiating team informed organisers they would not participate in any joint photo session with the US delegation, according to the source.
⚡️ Meanwhile, a senior US official claimed that the Iranian representatives had originally agreed to a joint photo opportunity and press statements at the start of the talks.
⚡️ Iranian state media crews attended the venue in advance to cover the meeting and were positioned in the room where it was due to take place, but the official alleged the Iranian delegation left after seeing the number of journalists present, later distributing an inaccurate account of events through state media.
⚡️ Following Iran’s refusal, the live broadcast and photo ceremony took place without the Iranian delegation, who entered the venue only after the event had concluded: “The US delegation requested an additional five minutes before talks began to allow journalists to leave the negotiating site,” the source said.
⚡️ State broadcaster IRIB announced talks between US, Iranian and Qatari delegations had begun: “A trilateral meeting involving Iran, the United States and Qatar is currently taking place at the negotiating centre to discuss a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon, and Iran’s frozen assets.”
CONTROVERSIAL THREATS:
⚡️ During the meeting, President Trump caused controversy by posting threats to Truth Social, including a message saying: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble,” adding: “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
🔹 Speaking to Fox News’ Trey Yingst afterwards, Trump said he’d warned Iranian officials that if Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, Iran ‘won’t have a country … you won’t even make it back to your fucking country.”
🔹 Responding to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s insistence that Tehran would not relinquish its right to peaceful uranium enrichment, Trump said: “He better watch his mouth, he better shape up, or we’ll take over the rest of the country.”
🔹 Trump stressed that the current arrangement with Iran is ‘not a deal’ but a temporary extension of the ceasefire, saying that the US held the cards, and retained multiple options if Tehran failed to meet Washington’s demands, reiterating that he can do whatever he wants after the 60-day period expires.
🔹 President Trump also said Washington could take control of the Strait of Hormuz and impose transit fees in the future if necessary, suggesting the US could claim up to 20% of the oil passing through the strategic waterway.
⚡️ Following President Trump’s threats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying that Israel stood firm on vital interests, had achieved great accomplishments, and would not give them up.
🔹 Netanyahu said: “We will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon as long is necessary… and regarding Iran, whatever the political developments, I will not allow Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons, as long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, this will not happen!”
⚡️ Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said there were no restrictions preventing Israeli soldiers from acting against threats in southern Lebanon, with troops to remain in the ‘security zone,’ stating: “There has never been, and there is currently no restriction on soldiers in Lebanon to act from eliminating threats – Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon!”
DETAILS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS UNFOLD:
⚡️ Iran said the Lebanon issue between Hezbollah and Israel would top the agenda in the Switzerland talks with the US, alongside frozen Iranian funds and oil sales, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaiel Baghaei told IRNA: “The ‘Israeli’ regime continues to violate its commitments in Lebanon, the issue will be the main discussion in today’s talks,” he said.
⚡️ Qatar’s Foreign Ministry released a statement noting that specialised technical and expert groups had been formed to negotiate the terms of the final agreement, which would cover all aspects of the MoU between the US and Iran.
🔹 Additionally, follow-up groups had been established to oversee the implementation of the MoU, monitor progress achieved, and work towards the conclusion of the final agreement, which reflected the commitment of all parties to moving forward in the negotiation process in good faith, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive and sustainable agreement.
⚡️ Member of Iran’s diplomatic delegation, Mehdi Ghorbanzadeh, announced that a draft authorising sanctions waivers for Iranian oil exports had been finalised and the waivers were expected to be issued soon.
🔹 Ghorbanzadeh said that the issue of Lebanon was the main focus of the negotiations and received more attention than any other topic in the bilateral, multilateral, and main meetings.
TALKS ENDED AFTER 80 MINUTES:
⚡️ First rounds of indirect talks between Iran and the US concluded after approximately 80 minutes, according to a source within Iran’s negotiating team cited by Fars News, stating that the four-party meeting, which also included mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, was paused to allow the delegations to conduct internal consultations before round two.
SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY VP VANCE:
⚡️ Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attempted to shake off rumours reported by Tasnim News in relation to the talks having stalled temporarily, while IRIB reported that the delegation had left the negotiating venue.
🔹 Standing in front of the press with VP JD Vance to his right, and Field Marshall Asim Munir to his left, Shehbaz thanked President Trump for his visionary and ‘very dynamic’ leadership, which had resulted in the meeting, saying: “I think here we are going to have wonderful discussions, which will hopefully lead to very productive results in times to come.”
🔹 As the camera panned out, the Iranian delegation, supported by the Qatari’s, were appearing at a distance away from the US delegation, and JD Vance spoke, saying the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the ending of the Iranian nuclear program – ‘these things have already been accomplished.’
🔹 Vance said the question was how much more could be accomplished together: “Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently, or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference but certainly a thing that can happen.”
🔹 The VP said the Qataris, the Pakistanis, and ‘friends in Israel,’ were all working toward regional peace: “Of course, there are going to be sometimes disagreements about how to get there,” he said: “But i actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon, although there is still some additional wood to chop, so we are going to keep working on it.”
🔹 Vance said: “What today really represents is the beginning of a technical negotiation that’s not going to solve every agreement, but is going to allow us to sit together as teams, for the first time really in history, to figure out what matters most to the respective parties, to settle those issues, to resolve those issues, and to get a better tomorrow.”
🔹 “The reason why the political leadership of the respective countries is here is because we wanted to, first of all, set up the structure for these negotiations, and second of all, make sure that our teams have our full support and know they can always call on us to break through any barriers,” Vance said, adding: “We got a lot of work to do, [but] we’re excited to do it.”
🔹 When a reporter said that Israel was committing genocide in Lebanon, and the main issue was stopping this, Vance replied: “Ma’am, I think Trumpa and the US have done more to stop this conflict in Lebanon than any other government anywhere in the world.”
🔹 Vance said that peace is never easy and always required a little bit of work, but always required some give and take: “But Trump is committed not just to peace between the US and Iran,” the VP stated, adding: “Trump is also committed to a regional peace.”
THE IRANIANS WERE NOT HAPPY:
⚡️ During the break in the talks, Iranian officials became aware of President Trump’s earlier threats, as Ghalibaf responded: “Don’t they realise that if their threats had been effective, they would not have reached the current state of desperation?” adding that Iran does not take American threats seriously.
🔹 “They would be wise to watch their words,” Ghalibaf warned, adding: “Our armed forces are prepared to respond in a different manner, so they can say what they want, but we are the ones who act!”
⚡️ Iran’s Press TV reported that the Iranian delegation had formally lodged a protest regarding the statements by President Trump to the US side and was now considering possible responses to the threats, noting that the MoU said all sides would refrain from threats on each other.
⚡️ Fars News Agency later reported that President Trump’s threats had led to Iran suspending the negotiations in Switzerland, leaving the continuation of the talks in a ‘state of uncertainty,’ also confirmed by Tasnim News Agency.
⚡️ Despite the claims by the Iranian media that the delegation had left, US media, including Fox News, stated that a US diplomat said Iranian negotiators remained in Switzerland and discussions were continuing.
🔹 According to Fox, negotiations have been underway throughout the day, with ‘robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal’ still in progress, adding that part of the talks was focused on clarifying messaging regarding the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring it remained open.
⚡️ Meanwhile, a US diplomat told Axios the talks began on Sunday morning and had continued non-stop in different formats, stating discussions focused on deconfliction mechanisms in Lebanon and enforcing the ceasefire, as well as the Strait of Hormuz, implementation of the MoU, and ‘all elements of the nuclear deal.
🔹 The official added that all four parties appeared pleased with how the talks had gone, and that ‘we feel this initial round of talks is setting us up for trust building going forward,’ adding that high-level political talks were expected to conclude on Monday, but technical teams could remain in Switzerland to continue negotiations.
⚡️ Later, Tasnim News said that all negotiations with the US would be suspended unless Israel fully withdrew from Lebanon and the conflict ended on all fronts, warning Israeli operations continuing could prompt a much harsher response, and accused Washington of potentially using negotiations to buy time for Israel to attack and advance.
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
⚡️ An official response came from Senior Military Advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mohsen Rezae, in a post on X, saying that the United States, based on its understanding with Iran, is responsible for the aggressions and provocative actions of Israel in Lebanon and must be held accountable, adding that the US would also be held accountable in the event of a threat against Iran.
⚡️ Foreign Minister Araghchi published an X statement: “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end the Lebanon War,” he stated, saying that oil and petrochem exports are now waived, blockades lifted, some frozen assets released, and a major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran: “1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell!”
⚡️ Meanwhile, Iranian FM Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei announced that a mechanism had been agreed in the meeting regarding the ‘management of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,’ stating that the groundwork was also made for negotiating a final peace deal.
🔹 Baghaei said Iran decided to cancel the rest of the meeting following President Trump’s threats on Truth Social, claiming that Iranian technical teams had begun working, but negotiations were not being conducted anytime in the near future.
⚡️ Following the meeting, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani inadvertently shared a photo of himself alongside President JD Vance, with Jared Kushner overlooking their shoulders, as they gazed at a security laptop, and the ID card of a female member of Vance’s team appeared to be on the upturned access key.
⚡️ Qatar and Pakistan issued a joint statement saying the conclusion of the first high-level US-Iran talks under the MoU had occurred, claiming the summit in Switzerland made ‘encouraging progress’ and established a framework for further technical negotiations.
🔹 A high-level committee has been formed to oversee mediation efforts, create working groups on nuclear issues, sanctions, monitoring, and dispute resolution, as well as pursuing a roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal within 60 days.
🔹 The statement concluded saying that a ‘direct communication channel’ had been set up to help ensure ‘safe commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz’ and a deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon.
⚡️ Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a phone call with Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner, and Qatari PM Al Thani, noting the discussion focused on reinforcing the ceasefire in Lebanon, ending the recent Israeli military escalation, and exploring steps to support those efforts, including the possible creation of a joint coordination cell dedicated to the issue.
⚡️ Following almost 18 hours of intensive talks and consultations between delegations at the negotiation venue in Switzerland, the Iranian delegation left for Iran on Monday morning.
