BÜRGENSTOCK, Switzerland, June 21 (ANI) —
Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Switzerland on the sidelines of ongoing negotiations aimed at building on the recent diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and the United States.
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Ghalibaf also met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is serving as a key facilitator in the negotiations.
The Iranian news agency noted that Qatar has long played an intermediary role in regional diplomacy and has been involved in efforts to keep communication channels open among the parties.
The meetings coincided with an announcement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday confirming the formal start of talks between the United States and Iran under the joint mediation of Qatar and Pakistan in Switzerland.
In an official statement, the ministry expressed “its aspiration that these meetings will lead to the conclusion of a comprehensive and permanent agreement addressing all aspects covered in the Memorandum of Understanding.”
Providing details on the structure of the negotiations, the ministry said that “specialized technical and expert groups have been formed to negotiate the terms of the final agreement, which will cover all aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding” between the United States and Iran.
The statement added that additional monitoring bodies have been established to oversee implementation of the framework.
“Additionally, follow-up groups have been established to oversee the implementation of the Memorandum, monitor progress achieved, and work toward the conclusion of the final agreement,” the ministry said.
The diplomatic effort gained momentum following the arrival of senior American and Iranian delegations at the Bürgenstock resort on Sunday.
The technical-level talks are being conducted under a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) finalized on June 17 by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The agreement established a 60-day window for negotiators to resolve key operational disputes and promote long-term stability across West Asia.
Highlighting the urgency of the discussions, U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland earlier Sunday to join American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who had already been working on the framework’s technical aspects.
Meanwhile, the Iranian delegation has assembled at the venue to present Tehran’s position. According to Iranian state television, the negotiating team includes Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and senior officials from Iran’s central bank and oil ministry.
The talks were originally scheduled to begin Friday but were delayed due to recent exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon, which threatened to disrupt the diplomatic timetable.
A key objective of the negotiations is securing critical global energy corridors. The initial finalization of the June MoU led to the reopening of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles nearly 20 percent of global energy supplies.
The waterway had been closed since Feb. 28 following joint U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, which prompted retaliatory actions from Tehran.
However, as negotiations proceed, the status of the maritime route remains disputed. Tehran claimed Saturday that it had once again closed the waterway following an Israeli strike in Lebanon, while the United States maintained that the route remains open, adding significant economic stakes to the ongoing talks. (ANI)
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