An emergency session on Lebanon has been added to talks between the US and Iran Switzerland and will be the first topic covered, a diplomat briefed on the session told Reuters. CNN this Sunday (21).
Before leaving for Switzerland, US Vice President JD Vance said that a priority was to make progress on a ceasefire in Lebanon, which has once again become the target of Israeli attacks.
Ending the conflict in Lebanon is “the most important item on the Iranian delegation’s agenda,” an Iranian official told CNN not Saturday (20th).
Iran has repeatedly insisted it will not if Israel continues to bomb Lebanon, where a conflict with the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group still persists.
In addition to the situation in Lebanon, negotiations in Switzerland must also address the Strait of Hormuz. On Saturday (20), Iran’s military command said it would close passage through the strait, citing the Lebanon issue.
The US military has denied Iran’s claim to control the canal, and President Donald Trump has threatened to impose US tolls on the shipping route if a deal with Tehran is not finally reached.
If the talks move forward, the next phase of negotiations should focus on Iran’s nuclear program. Before taking off for Switzerland on Saturday, make some progress on nuclear negotiations this weekend.
In the interim agreement, Tehran agreed that it “will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons.” But the parties agreed to wait to decide what to do with Iran’s arsenal of enriched nuclear material for a designated 60-day period to negotiate final terms.
The fate of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has been one of the main points of contention in previous negotiations, so it is no small obstacle.
