[92737] Delegations from Iran and the U.S. en route to Switzerland for discussions on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding

Diplomatic contacts in Bürgenstock: Iran and the U.S. meet in Switzerland

During the weekend of June 21, 2026, senior delegations from Iran and the United States arrived in the town of Bürgenstock, Switzerland. According to reports by IRNA, Iran's state news agency, the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived for discussions aimed at "demanding the implementation of the other side's commitments" in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Islamabad.

At the same time, Akharin Khabar and Iran International reported that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, and the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, Asim Munir, also arrived in Switzerland. According to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs as cited by Iran International, Pakistan is expected to continue supporting the implementation of agreements between Tehran and Washington, with Sharif expected to hold bilateral meetings with the various delegations on the sidelines of the conference.

Sources identified with the regime in Tehran provide a more complex narrative. IRNA agency claims that the talks are encountering difficulties due to what it terms "the continuation of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon" and claims that Iran has used countermeasures, including "blocking the movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz." According to IRNA, the upcoming talks are defined as "technical discussions only" and do not constitute the beginning of a broader 60-day negotiation process, a process that Tehran conditions on receiving "tangible guarantees for the end of the war on all fronts."

Conversely, Deutsche Welle in Persian cites the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson who emphasized that the trip "does not symbolize the beginning of the second phase of negotiations for a final agreement," but rather focuses on implementing the terms of the existing memorandum. The diplomatic atmosphere remains tense, as the parties gather under Pakistani supervision to examine the previously established commitments.