Middle East crisis live: Iran’s negotiating team leaves Switzerland after ‘constructive progress’ in first round of talks

Iran’s foreign minister earlier said hat ‘major progress’ had been made to end Israel’s war in Lebanon

In a post on X, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said US-Iran talks have concluded “successfully” ⁠in Switzerland, adding that discussions produced agreement on the establishment of a “high-level committee” to provide “political oversight” of the talks which are now entering a more “technical” phase.

“I commend the leadership of both the United States as well as Iran for their continued commitment to constructive engagement, and thank all brotherly and friendly countries for their valuable support in advancing this historic process,” Sharif, a key mediator between the US and Iran, wrote in his social media post. He praised Qatar for its mediation efforts and Switzerland for hosting the high-level diplomatic talks.

I said that Israel will respect the ceasefire in Lebanon as long as it won’t be breached by Hezbollah. We don’t have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but we will not withdraw from the security zone and expose our citizens to Hezbollah’s attacks and possible invasion. Lebanon’s sovereignty has been breached for decades to this very day by Iran’s indirect occupation by Hezbollah. It’s the interest of both Lebanon and Israel that Hezbollah’s terror state will be dismantled. I invited the FM to Israel.