US, Iranian Delegations Meet Pakistani Mediators in Switzerland

Delegations from the United States and Iran met with Pakistani mediators in Switzerland ahead of the long-awaited technical-level talks between Washington and Tehran.

The talks, made possible after both countries signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan acting as mediator, have been named the “Lake Lucerne Summit” and are set to run for four days.

The US delegation arrived first, led by Vice President JD Vance and accompanied by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, who serves as both Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff.

Just before the meeting, Vance spoke to a reporter and acknowledged Pakistan’s mediating role in the nearly four-month conflict that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, saying: “We love Pakistan.”

Following this, the Iranian delegation — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — met with the Pakistani side, which included PM Shehbaz, Field Marshal Munir, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who has made several recent visits to Iran.

First Formal Engagement Since the MoU

The Foreign Office had earlier said high-level delegations from Iran, Qatar and the US would take part in the talks, calling them the first formal engagement since the Islamabad MoU was signed on June 17.

The FO added that Pakistan would continue supporting the understanding reached between Tehran and Washington, describing its facilitating role throughout the crisis as principled, balanced and constructive. Islamabad’s involvement included hosting earlier rounds of US-Iran talks and keeping diplomatic channels open, efforts that eventually led to the memorandum.

Background to the Agreement

The Switzerland meeting follows the electronic signing of the Islamabad MoU by the US and Iran, an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump had announced the deal, saying it covered reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the accord for their respective countries, while PM Shehbaz later signed the Islamabad MoU as mediator, formally finalising the agreement.

Talks Resume Amid Renewed Tensions

The current round of talks follows fresh tensions that have strained the fragile US-Iran agreement. On Saturday, Iran said it was once again closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, just as negotiators were preparing to travel to Switzerland to keep the peace process moving.

The follow-up talks had originally been planned for Friday but were delayed after Israel carried out deadly strikes in Lebanon, raising fresh doubts about efforts to resolve the wider Middle East conflict.