Qalibaf, Vance to attend Switzerland signing of Iran-US peace memo
Araghchi: Talks on final deal likely to begin on Friday
Iranian deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday that top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance will attend the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Switzerland on Friday to end a recent US-Israeli aggression against Iran.
Both countries announced the agreement on Monday after a marathon of negotiations mediated by Pakistan, which will be followed by 60-day negotiations on Iran’s nuclear issue and sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said on the sidelines of a meeting with foreign diplomats based in Tehran that the second phase of the two-stage process will begin immediately after the signing of the memorandum on Friday.
According to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, the signing ceremony will be held at Switzerland's mountainside Bürgenstock resort.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who addressed the same meeting on Tuesday, also said a new round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington to reach a final agreement will likely begin on Friday.
"In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions."
Details of MoU
Takht-Ravanchi noted that the MoU addresses war reparations, the release of Iran's frozen assets, and an end to hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon.
The Iranian diplomat said that reconstruction is among the key issues covered by the document, stressing that a "plan for reconstruction has been envisaged.”
He also emphasized that the memorandum addresses Tehran's long-standing demand for access to its frozen assets and the lifting of restrictions affecting maritime trade routes, referring to an illegal naval blockade imposed by the US on Iran’s southern ports and its vessels since the beginning of the recent aggression against Iran on February.
Announcing the agreement in a post on social media on the early hours of Monday, US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports.
The memorandum of understanding also includes a $300bn fund to help rebuild Iran.
Vance on Monday said Iran could have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund under its peace agreement with the US if Tehran upholds its obligations outlined in the deal.
When asked about the fund by CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe during a Monday morning interview, Vance said, “Well, Ed, that’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the [Persian] Gulf Coast Coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation.”