A statement from mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the cell would include the Lebanese government and would ensure adherence to the termination of military operations in Lebanon.
But it remains unclear whether that will be enough to stop fighting between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israel, which occupies Lebanon and insists it must maintain a free hand to attack militants who are launching attacks into northern Israel.
Iran’s foreign minister early Monday praised Pakistan and Qatar for their mediation after talks in Switzerland, saying that they delivered major progress.
Abbas Araghchi wrote the message on X.
Pakistan, Qatar and Iran have all acknowledged the end of the first round of high-level talks. The US hasn’t commented yet.
In his message, Araghchi said the first real test of the understandings reached would be a deconfliction method created over the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has tied success in the talks to the end of the fighting there. Israel insists it will continue to occupy Lebanese territory and that it must have a free hand to fight Hezbollah, which has launched attacks into northern Israel.
The talks marked the start of a 60-day diplomatic process that seeks to reach a permanent deal to end the Iran war. But the fighting in Lebanon remains one of the key sticking points.
Meanwhile, Iran insisted it had again shut the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf crucial to energy shipments, while the US said traffic continued.
The negotiations had a tense start Sunday (June 21) in Switzerland, when Tehran took offence at US President Donald Trump’s threat to attack and his warning that Iran’s president should watch what he says.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” The comments from afar – on social media and to news outlets – complicated efforts by Vice President J D Vance and mediators Pakistan and Qatar to keep Iran engaged in discussions.
“They would do better to be careful about their statements,” Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X after Trump’s comments.
“Our armed forces are prepared to respond to them in a different manner. They may keep talking; it is we who act.” But later, Araghchi wrote on X, “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end the Lebanon War.” He said the first real test of negotiations would be whether the deconfliction cell succeeded in halting the fighting in Lebanon.
Vance and US negotiators, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had met with Qalibaf and Araghchi for what Iranian state media said was about 80 minutes.
Pakistan and Qatar, after the meeting, said lower-level technical talks would continue in Switzerland for the rest of the week. Such talks aim at producing the breakthroughs needed for high-level officials to return and sign agreements.
A senior US diplomat engaged in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions, said the talks included clarifying what Iran meant by recent statements about the Strait of Hormuz.
Negotiators also discussed mechanisms to ensure the strait remains open and that a ceasefire in southern Lebanon is enforced, along with robust discussions on the nuclear issue.
Iran first wants to focus on Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.
“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?” Vance said as the talks began, and asked whether they could change relations in the Middle East permanently. The US wants Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear programme amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Iran denies.
Vance also wants Tehran to commit to keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran on Saturday claimed to close. The US has disputed that, saying shipping traffic continued Sunday.
A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday (June 20), appeared to be holding, and Israel’s military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the border with Lebanon on Monday morning – another sign of calm.
But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the US-Iran deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.
