By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said Saturday that technical-level talks between the United States and Iran will be held Sunday in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, as the two sides prepare to begin working through the details of a landmark peace framework signed earlier this week despite Tehran reimposing its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day over Israel’s continuing strikes on Lebanon
“As a follow-up to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, technical-level talks will be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June 2026,” the foreign office said in a statement. “Pakistan will continue to facilitate the process in its role as mediator, with a view to advancing the understandings reached under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.”
“Representatives of the United States and Iran, along with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, will participate in the discussions.”
The confirmation came after Iran’s joint military command announced it had closed the strait, citing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and US “bad faith,” casting doubt on whether Sunday’s talks would go ahead at all. Military command, in a statement broadcast on state television, said the strait had been closed because of Israel’s continuing strikes in Lebanon, which it described as American “bad faith” and a “clear breach of commitments.” It warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”
The 14-point Islamabad MoU, signed Thursday by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian — with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signing as mediator — calls for reopening the strait, easing sanctions on Iranian oil exports, a ceasefire in Lebanon, and a 60-day process to negotiate a broader settlement of disputes over Iran’s nuclear program. Under the deal, the US committed to lifting its blockade of Iranian ports and facilitating a $300 billion regional reconstruction fund for Iran once a final nuclear agreement is reached.
But the Lebanon clause — which neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed — became the deal’s immediate pressure point. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 32 people on Saturday, including two children, hours after reports of a ceasefire. The death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war has now passed 4,000.
Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but accused Israel of violating it repeatedly on Friday night. Its military wing said it would abide by the agreement but would also defend against Israeli attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his forces will remain in southern Lebanon until all threats to Israel are eliminated. Israel’s army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets on Saturday, including command centres.
Iran said its negotiating team, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and including parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and central bank and oil officials, was traveling to Switzerland. But Tehran signaled the talks would be largely unproductive unless Washington reined in Israel.
“This trip is about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said. “If part of the counterpart’s commitments is not implemented, the entirety of the agreement will be jeopardized.”
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland and said he expected to travel there himself within “the next couple of days.” “Negotiations are going well,” Vance told Fox News, “but the US has all the cards.”
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran on Saturday to meet Foreign Minister Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in an effort to keep the diplomatic process on track. Both ministers described the US-Iran agreement as “a positive step toward sustainable peace in the region,” Pakistan’s interior ministry said.
It was Naqvi’s latest in a series of visits to Tehran since the US-Iran conflict erupted in late February. He last met Iranian officials on 7 June. Pakistan hosted the first direct US-Iran talks in April and has since coordinated backchannel diplomacy involving Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and China.
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