Technical negotiations between Iran and the United States, held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, with Pakistan and Qatar as mediators, concluded on 23 June with the establishment of four specialised working groups. The groups will address sanctions relief, nuclear issues, economic reconstruction and development, and monitoring and implementation of agreements. Concurrently, Washington issued a 60-day licence authorising transactions involving Iranian crude and petrochemicals, and Tehran announced the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian funds, according to Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

From Tehran, Gharibabadi, who led the technical team, stated that the next phase will be overseen by a high-level committee comprising the speaker of Iran’s parliament, the Iranian foreign minister, the US vice president, and the prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar. US Vice President JD Vance, speaking from Bürgenstock, confirmed that the talks had achieved “very good progress” and outlined four US objectives: a mechanism to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, a de-confliction cell for regional ceasefires including Lebanon, IAEA inspector access to Iran, and a framework for a final accord. Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan have facilitated the process since the initial memorandum of understanding was signed remotely on 18 June.

The working groups are designed to translate the broad MoU into detailed commitments. The sanctions group will negotiate the lifting of economic blockades and asset freezes; the nuclear group will address IAEA monitoring and the future of Iran’s programme; the reconstruction group will develop economic incentives and regional recovery plans; and the monitoring group will ensure compliance and dispute resolution. The MoU, which ended a military conflict that began on 28 February, also mandated a 60-day timeline for a final comprehensive agreement. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports, imposed in April, was lifted last week as a precursor to the talks. The negotiations were briefly disrupted on 21 June when Iran’s delegation walked out in protest at social media threats from President Trump, but resumed the following day.

The high-level committee is expected to convene shortly, though no date has been set. The technical working groups will begin their deliberations, with the 60-day clock ticking towards a final deal. Analysts in the Gulf region note that the inclusion of economic reconstruction signals an attempt to address the underlying economic grievances that have fuelled instability. The process remains fragile: the walkout underscored the sensitivity to rhetorical escalations, and the US licence is explicitly temporary, expiring on 21 August, linking sanctions relief to continued progress. The dossier now moves into a phase where political will at the highest levels will be tested against the detailed technical work of the four groups.