Mediators hail 'encouraging progress' in first Iran-US talks

Mediators Qatar and Pakistan hail ‘encouraging progress’ on the first day of Iran-US talks.

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The first round of talks between the US and Iran in Switzerland has concluded, with mediators saying “encouraging progress” has been made, “including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks”.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar say the parties have agreed to establish a high-level committee to oversee the process. Chief negotiators will report to it and lead working groups on nuclear issues, sanctions and dispute resolution.

Technical negotiations, however, will continue this week as the two sides aim to discuss a host of issues, including Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here’s what we know as the war enters its 115th day.

Diplomacy

According to Pakistan and Qatar, the US and Iran have agreed on a 60-day roadmap to reach a final deal. A high-level committee has been established to provide political oversight of the mediation. Chief negotiators will regularly report to the committee and oversee working groups, including on Tehran’s nuclear programme and US sanctions on Iran.

The parties have set up “a communication line” on the Strait of Hormuz and a “de-confliction cell” to end military operations in Lebanon.

Thomas Warrick, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, says the upcoming technical talks will be “really hard” and could take longer than the 60 days included in the interim deal. “You’re not going to have a deal on the nuclear file, without also having a deal on the sanctions and the frozen assets,” Warrick told Al Jazeera. “So this is a situation where one side gives on what the other side wants the most and then gives up in return what the other side wants.”

In Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has hailed “major progress” to end the war in Lebanon and said the US has agreed to waive sanctions on Iranian oil and release some frozen assets.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the work of Tehran’s negotiating team in Switzerland is now “complete” and technical teams would continue their work this week.

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force has warned Israel to leave southern Lebanon or face a repeat of its unconditional withdrawal from the country in 2000. Esmail Qaani said in a post on social media that if Israel persisted in its “aggression and occupation”, it would be kicked out in “humiliation and defeat”, according to state-run Press TV.

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s latest threats, saying the US should be careful with its rhetoric. Earlier, Trump threatened to attack Iran over its support of Hezbollah.

In the US

The US military’s Central Command has said that US “forces continue to be present in the skies, on land, and at sea” throughout the Middle East. CENTCOM shared a photograph of two warplanes it said were conducting a “routine patrol”.

In Lebanon

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Nabatieh, said a ceasefire “appears to be taking hold” in Lebanon after days of deadly attacks. “There has been a cautious calm here in Nabatieh as a ceasefire appears to be taking hold. But it has followed a very brutal and bloody couple of days for this city and the surrounding towns and villages,” she said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his forces will remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary, as Hezbollah vows to confront any violation of the ceasefire.

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