Diplomats Hold Preparatory US-Iran Talks at Swiss Resort

Diplomats from several countries met Saturday at the Burgenstock luxury resort near Lucerne in central Switzerland to maintain dialogue on a preliminary US-Iran agreement aimed at halting the Middle East war. The Swiss foreign ministry said the talks were taking place at the resort but gave no further details on who was present or what was discussed.

A diplomatic source told AFP the discussions were preparatory in nature.

Background to the Meeting Senior-level talks had been planned for Friday but were called off. Swiss public broadcaster RTS reported that technical delegations from the United States and Iran, along with mediators Qatar and Pakistan, were present. "Switzerland continues to provide a discreet and reliable setting to facilitate talks at Burgenstock on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that diplomats from various countries were continuing efforts to maintain dialogue and that no further information could be provided.

The postponement followed deadly strikes carried out by Israel in southern Lebanon on Saturday. Hezbollah stated it had the right to respond. US President Donald Trump and Iran's counterpart signed a preliminary agreement this week to halt fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Follow-up talks scheduled for Friday were indefinitely postponed as fighting flared again. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said late Friday he had met earlier that day with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the resort to exchange views on regional developments following the memorandum of understanding.