Iran's foreign minister Araghchi says 'major progress' made to end Lebanon War

Even as volatility from the Persian Gulf has persisted, a sign of hope has emerged amid aggravated rhetoric from all sides. In a post on X, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who has been the face of the Islamic Republic in negotiations with the United States, hinted at progress in talks towards peace and stability

In his post, shared earlier on June 22, he said, “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end the Lebanon War. Oil and petrochem exports are waived, the blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and a major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran.”

He further asserted, “1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell”

Aragcchi’s post itself was quoting a joint statement issued by Pakistan and Qatar, which announced the conclusion of the Switzerland talks.

On Sunday, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Pak Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were seen at the Lake Lucerne Summit alongside the United States Vice President JD Vance. Alongside the Pakistani delegation, Qatari FM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was also seen sharing the stage at the negotiations.

In the joint statement for Pakistan and Qatar, announcing the conclusion of the talks said, “The Lake Lucerne Summit was conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere. Encouraging progress has been made, including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks.”

“Building on the Mol, the parties have agreed to the establishment of a High Level Committee, which will provide political oversight on the mediation. Chief negotiators will report regularly to the High Level Committee and lead working groups focused on nuclear, sanctions, and a monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the effective implementation of the MoU and on other matters.”

The statement also read, “Moreover, the parties agreed on the creation of a de-escalation cell between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and the facilitators, to ensure the adherence to the termination of military operations in Lebanon as per the MoU Technical talks, which will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues.”

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump, while upping the ante in the matter, said, “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

 

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