Abbas Araghchi says 'major progress' made toward ending war, Lebanon ceasefire remains key test

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday there was “major progress” in talks with the United States.

“Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War,” Araghchi posted on X.

“Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran.”

The foreign minister’s comments came as the first round of high-level technical talks between Iran and the United States concluded in Switzerland, with Iranian officials confirming that quadrilateral meetings were suspended after Washington issued threatening remarks, but that technical work will continue.

Read more: Iran-US technical talks to continue for rest of the week at Burgenstock: Pakistan, Qatar

Technical talks between Iran and the United States will continue this week in Switzerland, following the conclusion of first-round negotiations to end the Middle East war, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said on Monday.

“Technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues,” Pakistan and Qatar said in a joint statement.

The parties agreed to a mechanism to end the fighting in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the contested strait, the statement said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance had opened talks with Iranian officials on Sunday under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for ​at least another 60 days. The discussions continued until the early hours of Monday.