The first round of negotiations between the US and Iran to reach a final deal to end the war has concluded with \u201cencouraging progress\u201d, mediators Qatar and Pakistan say.<\/p>\n
The talks began on Sunday in Switzerland, after last week\u2019s initial agreement between the two countries.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement on Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said that a \u201cHigh Level Committee\u201d had agreed to \u201ca roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days\u201d. Technical talks will continue throughout the week.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a US diplomat involved in negotiations said discussions were focused on \u201cclarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran\u201d on the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz and enforcing the ceasefire in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The mediators\u2019 joint statement said that a \u201ccommunication line\u201d had been formed \u201cto avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz\u201d.<\/p>\n
Discussions also focused on \u201celements\u201d of a nuclear deal, the US diplomat said, adding that both delegations, who were meeting in the Swiss city Lucerne, would use \u201ctoday\u2019s work as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s initial agreement includes a commitment to reach a final deal within 60 days, as well as an end to fighting on \u201call fronts\u201d \u2013 including in Lebanon \u2013 and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
However, there has since been an upsurge in fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, and Israeli air strikes that the health ministry says have killed dozens of Lebanese including women and children.<\/p>\n
That escalation led the US to declare a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday. Continued clashes and air strikes prompted Iran on Saturday to announce it had shut the Strait of Hormuz \u2013 though tracking data shows vessels have continued to pass through it.<\/p>\n
The joint statement from Qatar and Pakistan said: \u201cThe parties agreed on the creation of a deconfliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, as the talks in Lucerne between the US and Iranian delegations began, Trump posted that Iran \u201cmust immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble\u201d and threatened to \u201chit Iran very hard again\u201d if they did not.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded by saying: \u201cDon\u2019t they think that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn\u2019t be in this desperate situation today?\u2026 No matter how much they talk, it is we who take action.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, fighting was reported to have diminished but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the Israeli military would remain in southern Lebanon for as long as is necessary to protect northern Israel.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected any Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon and said Hezbollah would defend itself.<\/p>\n
Speaking before the talks at the Swiss resort of B\u00fcrgenstock, US lead negotiator Vice-President JD Vance said Trump had asked negotiators to \u201cturn over a new leaf\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added that if Iran\u2019s leadership was willing to give up being a \u201cdriver of regional instability\u201d and its \u201cnuclear weapons ambitions for the longer term\u201d, then the US \u201cis willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country\u201d.<\/p>\n
Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful.<\/p>\n
Vance was joined by Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Ghaibaf was accompanied by Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.<\/p>\n
Also in Switzerland were Pakistan\u2019s prime minister and army chief and the Qatari prime minister. Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n
Qatar has also mediated and late on Sunday Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said he welcomed the continuation of US-Iran talks.<\/p>\n
The US and Iranian presidents signed the initial agreement earlier this week, aiming to end the war with immediate effect.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Iran was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel through which 20% of the world\u2019s oil and natural gas travels. Its effective closure had driven up fuel prices and disrupted the global economy.<\/p>\n
The US also agreed to lift a military blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
The initial deal also included a $300bn (\u00a3224bn) plan for Iran\u2019s \u201creconstruction\u201d, and the US terminating \u201call types of sanctions\u201d on it.<\/p>\n
But the issue of Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, the main reason stated by the US for the conflict, is still to be negotiated. In Trump\u2019s first term, he withdrew the US froman Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed economic sanctions.<\/p>\n
On Sunday some vessels appeared to be entering, exiting and transiting the strait, according to location data on the maritime tracking website MarineTraffic, despite Iran\u2019s claim \u2013 disputed by the US \u2013 to have closed the strait.<\/p>\n
Four tankers passed through the strait by late afternoon. Four other vessels, all cargo or carrier ships, appear to be heading eastwards after being stationary on the western approach to the strait since the end of last week. In the other direction, four vessels appear to be heading out of the strait westwards having departed waters off the Iran coast.<\/p>\n
Tracking data may not capture all movements as some vessels may have turned their trackers off.<\/p>\n
The initial deal also called for fighting to stop on all fronts,but in Lebanon Israeli air strikes have since killed at least 67 people, while Hezbollah attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n
Israel has insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah is separate from the war on Iran, which it mounted alongside the US on 28 February.<\/p>\n
Lebanon was drawn into the war shortly afterwards, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran\u2019s supreme leader.<\/p>\n
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and occupying around 5% of the country\u2019s territory in the south \u2013 hoping to drive back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border \u2013 and has said it has no intention of withdrawing.<\/p>\n
Since 2 March, 4,057 people have been killed in Lebanon, the country\u2019s health ministry says. At least 34 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon, and four civilians in northern Israel, Israeli authorities say.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first round of negotiations between the US and Iran to reach a final deal to end the war has concluded with \u201cencouraging progress\u201d, mediators Qatar and Pakistan say. The talks began on Sunday in Switzerland, after last week\u2019s initial agreement between the two countries. In a joint statement on Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}