Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says negotiations on a final agreement with the United States are expected to begin after the signing of a peace memorandum in Switzerland….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has announced that negotiations with the United States on a final agreement are expected to begin on Friday, following the planned signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending months of conflict between the two countries.
Speaking at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran, Araghchi said the next phase of talks would focus on securing a comprehensive agreement after the two sides finalised a peace framework earlier this week.
According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, the minister said the negotiations would likely commence on Friday at a venue yet to be confirmed.
“The new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States on reaching a final agreement will probably begin on Friday,” Araghchi said.
He explained that Tehran and Washington had agreed to divide the diplomatic process into two stages due to the complexity of issues arising from the conflict and what he described as US and Israeli aggression against Iran.
Under the first stage, the two sides focused on finalising the memorandum of understanding covering issues including the end of the war, the Strait of Hormuz, the US naval blockade on Iran, frozen Iranian assets and reconstruction efforts linked to war damage.
The second stage, Araghchi said, will involve a 60 day negotiating period aimed at reaching a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran.
The foreign minister stressed that formally ending the conflict remains the most significant aspect of the memorandum.
“Based on the decision we made, the end of the war was also announced on Monday morning when the agreement was finalised, but the official start of the MoU will be on Friday,” he said.
Araghchi also linked the agreement to developments in Lebanon, describing a ceasefire there as an integral part of the broader peace arrangement.
He argued that the conflict in Lebanon became closely tied to the war involving Iran and therefore could not be separated from the overall settlement.
“The immediate and permanent end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, is perhaps the most important issue in the MoU,” he said.
The minister added that Iran considers the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied during the conflict as essential to achieving a complete end to hostilities. He warned that any future Israeli military action against Lebanon or the continued occupation of Lebanese territory would be viewed by Tehran as a violation of the peace memorandum.
The United States, Pakistan and Iran announced on Monday that the memorandum of understanding had been finalised after weeks of negotiations and would be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.
The agreement follows months of heightened tensions that began on February 28, when Israel and the United States launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel as well as US military bases and assets across the region.
Attention is now turning to Friday’s signing ceremony and the subsequent negotiations, which could determine the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and the broader sanctions regime imposed on the country.
