Technical negotiations between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, have concluded with agreement on a structure of four specialised working groups and a high-level oversight committee, according to Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi. The working groups will address sanctions termination, nuclear issues, reconstruction and economic development, and monitoring and implementation. In parallel, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a general licence for the sale of Iranian oil, petrochemicals and related services, and signed agreements to release $12 billion in frozen Iranian funds in two $6 billion instalments are entering the implementation phase, Gharibabadi confirmed. A contact line for the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and a conflict prevention unit for Lebanon, with participation from the mediating states, were also established.

Viewed from Tehran, the outcome represents a structured pathway toward sanctions relief and economic normalisation. Iranian officials have previously stated that the country is prepared to reduce uranium enrichment from 60 percent but that the question of “zero enrichment” is no longer on the agenda, and that negotiations must not be conducted under pressure, threats or blockade. President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted that sanctions cannot precede talks. The Iranian side also continues to demand the lifting of the US naval blockade, the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of American forces from border areas. From Washington, the issuance of the oil licence and the commitment to release frozen funds signal a calibrated willingness to offer economic incentives, while the inclusion of the US vice president in the high-level committee indicates a political investment in the process. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar described the atmosphere of the 21 June meeting as positive and constructive.

The creation of a high-level committee comprising Iran’s parliament speaker and foreign minister, the US vice president, and the prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar institutionalises a direct channel between senior political figures, moving beyond the technical and indirect formats that characterised earlier rounds. The four working groups are designed to translate political understandings into verifiable steps, with the heads of the four countries’ technical teams overseeing and directing their work and reporting to the committee. The immediate economic measures—the oil licence and the unfreezing of assets—serve as confidence-building tests of mutual compliance, while the regional security units for Hormuz and Lebanon broaden the agenda to encompass stability concerns that extend beyond the bilateral nuclear file.

This round of talks follows a remote memorandum of understanding signed on 18 June that ended a military conflict which had begun on 28 February and included a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier diplomatic efforts in Oman, Geneva, Vienna and Islamabad had produced no breakthrough, and Iranian officials had at times voiced suspicion that negotiations might serve as a cover for a new US attack. The current mediation by Pakistan and Qatar reflects a regional diplomatic architecture that has gained traction since the initial Islamabad round in April. The nuclear issue remains the core of the dossier, with Tehran linking any durable agreement to verifiable sanctions removal and Washington maintaining that limits on enrichment must be enforceable.

The high-level committee is expected to convene in the coming weeks to supervise the next phase of negotiations, though no date has been announced. The working groups will begin their technical tasks, and the release of frozen funds is set to proceed immediately. The process now shifts from exploratory technical discussions to a politically managed sequence in which the ability of both sides to deliver on initial commitments will shape the trajectory of the broader agreement.