Vance, Sharif meet on sidelines of US-Iran talks in Switzerland

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday that the Lake Lucerne Summit provided a framework for discussion and dialogue.

"In a challenging context, the relationship of trust between Switzerland and Iran, reflected in our protecting power mandate, remains in the service of diplomacy and for peace and security in the Middle East,” he wrote on X.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Burgenstock to discuss recent developments regarding Iran, the path ahead and the role of the UN nuclear watchdog.

“At this critical moment, it’s important to give diplomacy every opportunity to succeed,” Grossi said in a post on X.

The head of the judiciary in Iran’s central province of Isfahan said 4,044 cases were opened over protests in January unrest, with 2,899 indictments issued and 1,975 cases resulting in final rulings.

He said 890 cases were filed in the provincial capital and that rulings had been issued in more than 2,000 cases at preliminary, revolutionary and criminal courts.

The rulings included acquittals, fines, prison sentences ranging from one to 30 years and death sentences in cases involving accusations of moharebeh, or “waging war against God.” Some of the verdicts are under review at the Supreme Court, he said.

Iran foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that the US failure to ensure a ceasefire in Lebanon would be a central issue at the meeting with US officials in Burgenstock, Switzerland.

Esmaeil Baghaei also said the one-day meeting was a follow-up to implementation of a memorandum of understanding with the United States and would include a joint afternoon session between Iran, the US, Qatar and Pakistan.

He said other issues would also be discussed, including waivers for the sale of Iranian oil and the release of Iran’s frozen assets.

Talks between a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are set to begin on Sunday morning in Burgenstock, with mediators also present, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir were also in Switzerland for the talks.