Progress Made Toward Ending War, Lebanon Ceasefire Remains Key Test: Iran FM

Burgenstock, MINA – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has praised Pakistan and Qatar for their “tireless” mediation efforts, saying major progress has been made toward ending the war on Iran, but that the “real test” will be the successful implementation of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Quoted from Press TV, in a post on X early Monday, Araqchi wrote: “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War. Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran. 1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell.”

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.

Esmail Baghaei, who was accompanying the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told reporters early on Monday that the Swiss talks were focused on monitoring the implementation of US commitments under the MoU signed on June 18.

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“We had a very long day. The meetings started on Sunday morning. During the quadrilateral session, threatening remarks from America were published, which led Iran to announce that it would not continue the quadrilateral meeting under such conditions,” Baghaei said, referring to anti‑Iran threats issued by US President Donald Trump on Sunday.

He added that Qatar and Pakistan attempted to keep the dialogue going, but Iran insisted it would not proceed in a quadrilateral format.

Baghaei confirmed that the implementation of the MoU demands the end of the war “on all fronts,” without which “entry into the negotiation phase for the final agreement is not possible.” []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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