Iran says technical talks with US in Switzerland conclude successfully

Iran says technical talks with the United States and mediators in Switzerland have concluded successfully, opening the way for the next phase of negotiations linked to ending the more than 100-day war. The discussions were described by Iranian officials as focused on how a framework agreement would be carried out in practice. The talks were held after a high-level committee meeting on Sunday to monitor implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

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Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who led Iran's technical team, said the four-party talks ended with agreement on arrangements for future negotiations, including working groups and implementation mechanisms. He said the technical discussions were meant to determine how the memorandum and the statement issued after the high-level meeting would be put into effect. Iran's official news agency reported his comments on Tuesday, saying the necessary understandings had been reached.

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf also said an agreement had been reached with the United States to release $12bn in frozen Iranian assets. US President Donald Trump said the funds would be used to buy food and other produce from the United States. He said the money being unfrozen would be spent on American farm goods, including corn and soybeans.

The US Treasury has also announced a 60-day waiver allowing Iran to sell oil and petrochemical products. The reported developments matter because they suggest a shift from broad confrontation toward a managed diplomatic process, with practical steps now being discussed alongside the political framework. Any arrangement involving frozen assets and sanctions relief could have direct economic consequences for Iran, while also affecting wider regional and international calculations.

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The reported oil and petrochemical waiver is especially significant because it points to a change in how Washington is handling pressure on Iran's energy sector. The talks follow a June 17 framework memorandum signed virtually by the US and Iranian presidents, according to the Iranian account of events. That agreement was presented as a basis for ending the war and setting out the next stage of negotiations.

The Swiss meetings were described as technical, but they appear to have been central to defining the mechanisms needed to move from principle to implementation. It remains unclear how quickly the reported understandings will be turned into formal steps, or whether all sides will interpret the arrangements in the same way. The size, timing and conditions of the asset release have also not been independently detailed in the supplied material.

What happens next will depend on whether the working groups and implementation mechanisms can be put in place without delay, and whether the broader ceasefire process holds.

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