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US and Iran conclude high-level talks in Switzerland, mediators say

The parties agreed to a mechanism to end the fighting in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the contested strait, the statement said.

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The first round of talks between high-ranking U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland ended Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran’s announcement ​it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.

A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan said the U.S. and Iran agreed ‌to a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, according to the statement, which was released by the Qatari foreign ministry, Reuters reported.

The parties agreed to a mechanism to end the fighting in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the contested strait, the statement said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance had opened talks with Iranian officials on Sunday under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for ​at least another 60 days. The discussions continued until the early hours of Monday.

In a post on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of ​some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.

The White House had no immediate comment when asked if talks had wrapped for now.

Just before talks officially began ⁠on Sunday, Fox News reported that Trump said he told Iranian officials “you won’t have a country” if they tried to close the strait again. Trump also reiterated an earlier threat that the U.S. would take over the waterway and possibly charge a toll ​of its own, Fox News said.

U.S. and Iranian sources provided separate accounts of the discussions in Switzerland.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, said that after Trump’s threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were ​held, though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators.

According to Tasnim’s source, Iranians said that the start of negotiations on nuclear matters required the delivery of other parts of the MOU, including the release of frozen assets and U.S. waivers authorizing Iranian oil exports.

“The Iranians never left and are still here meeting and negotiating deep into the night,” a U.S. diplomat involved in the talks told Reuters. “We’ve talked about the Strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues, and details of implementing the MOU, among other topics.”

High-level discussions are expected to wrap up on Monday, with technical staff remaining ​to conduct further talks, according to a U.S. official.

The agreement called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for global energy shipments, and ending all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued to launch deadly strikes as Iranian ally Hezbollah ​fires at Israeli targets.

Iran, arguing that the U.S. had failed to meet its commitment to halt fighting in Lebanon, said on the weekend that it had again stopped maritime traffic through the strait and that Sunday’s talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran’s nuclear ‌programme.

At the talks ⁠in Switzerland, where U.S. and Iranian officials met in the presence of Qatari mediators, Vance played down the impact of violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there.

“These things are always a little bit messy,” he said.

Back in the United States, Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran if it did not rein in its allies.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump wrote on social media, apparently referring to Hezbollah. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

Even as Trump was threatening Iran, Vance told reporters the U.S. president had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran.”

A U.S. diplomat late Sunday said discussions included “clarifying ​some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait ​and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain ⁠fully open.”

IRAN CITES LEBANON AS REASON TO CLOSE STRAIT

Despite the announcement of a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday, there has been scant sign of an end to fighting there. Iran said on Saturday that as a result, it had again shut the strait, whose closure for nearly four months caused the biggest disruption of global energy supplies in history.

U.S. officials disputed that the strait ​was closed, but commercially available shipping data showed an immediate impact.

Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from ​analytics firm Kpler showed. The data ⁠may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.

Iran’s Fars news agency cited a military source as saying on Sunday that no new permits were being issued for ships to cross until further notice.

Trump said he agreed to last week’s memorandum of understanding to avert a global economic depression from high oil prices caused by the strait’s closure. Oil prices had tumbled over the past week to levels unseen since the war started on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Brent crude futures rose more than $1 to $81.66 a ⁠barrel in early ​Monday trading, following the rocky start to the peace talks.

Sunday appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon for some time, with no reports of ​major violence by nightfall, after two days of heavy Israeli strikes and fire from Hezbollah fighters on Israeli positions.

More than 1 million people have fled their homes in Lebanon since Israel invaded in March to pursue Hezbollah fighters who fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon on Sunday ​saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to their homes. Some stood beside cars backed up on the highway and waved Hezbollah flags.

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Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia defence pact technically same as NATO’s Article 5, Turkish minister says

Fidan also said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wanted to see the alliance expand, and that Egypt was a potential candidate to ​join, among others.

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A defence pact signed between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is ‌technically the same as NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence agreement, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday, adding the accord was not targeting Iran.

Fidan also said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wanted to see the alliance expand, and that Egypt was a potential candidate to ​join, among others.

The regional powers signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” on Friday, wedding Sunni Muslim U.S. allies alarmed ​at a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters.

In a ⁠joint statement, they said the accord intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates ​that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all.

Speaking to the ​state-run Anadolu news agency, Fidan said the new alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country, but rather served as a general pledge to support the three allies’ security.

He added that the allies would decide through consultations what degree, form, and format of ​support they would ask for in the event of an attack, but that no country would be considered a ​threat as long as a member state is not attacked.

Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army, has said the pact was open ‌to ⁠expansion to other regional countries and did not seek to replace any existing alliances.

“NATO is a giant military alliance where there are 32 countries. We have started here as three countries and we have to take very humble but concrete steps,” he said, adding efforts to finalise the pact had been underway for two years and eight months.

He ​added that a committee ​of ministers similar to that ⁠within NATO would be formed as part of the alliance, as well as a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia, but that operational details would be set at ​the first committee meeting.

“Our president’s vision is that we don’t remain limited to three ​countries, that ⁠we grow and bring together all (regional) countries under this roof,” he said, adding Egypt could potentially join the pact once certain technical matters are resolved.

In recent months, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt formed a group to address regional issues, ⁠namely the ​war on Iran. Turkey has said the group – dubbed the R4 – ​aims to solidify its partnership through concrete mechanisms.

Fidan also said Turkey should be involved in an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea ​from Houthi attacks because shipping safety concerned Ankara’s interests.

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Goods transporters to go on strike from Saturday after talks with Pakistan govt fail

However, the minister has assured the transporters that he would discuss their demands, and the next round of talks would be held on Monday morning.

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Goods transporters and oil tanker operators began suspending their services on Friday night after negotiations with the Pakistani government failed, ahead of their nationwide wheel-jam strike scheduled for Saturday.

All Pakistan Goods Transport Itehad spokesman and All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association President Mohammad Owais Chaudhry Advocate told Dawn that talks with Federal Minister for Communications Aleem Khan and other government officials had failed.

He said the negotiations ended without a breakthrough, prompting transporters, including edible oil tanker operators, petroleum oil tanker operators, truckers, trailer operators and other intercity transporters, to proceed with their previously announced strike.

“We have informed the government side about the problems we are facing and our concerns,” Chaudhry said, adding that the strike would continue until their demands were accepted.

However, the minister has assured the transporters that he would discuss their demands, and the next round of talks would be held on Monday morning.

The unified body of transporters had already announced that it would begin its wheel-jam strike from August 8, and warned that it would not be a token strike but an indefinite one.

“Commercial goods carriers across the country have already been taken off the roads and will remain stationed at designated places during the protest period,” Chaudhry said.

Among the key demands of the transporters is the uniform enforcement of axle-load limits across the country and permission for 10-wheel vehicles to carry up to 35 tonnes.

They have also demanded reductions in diesel prices and toll taxes, besides seeking relief in withholding tax to ease the financial burden on the transport sector.

The transporters have also called for the withdrawal of customs provisions that, according to the association, allow authorities to confiscate vehicles carrying goods found to be in violation of customs laws.

Other demands include the withdrawal of the Punjab Highway Patrol’s powers to issue challans to commercial vehicles, an end to what the association described as unnecessary challans and excessive fines on motorways and highways, and measures to facilitate the issuance of heavy transport vehicle licences to drivers.

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Iran FM calls for regional self-reliance and ‘true brotherhood’

“Iran’s powerful armed forces have shown their readiness, capability and might in the face of the world’s most expensive military,” Araghchi wrote.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called on neighbouring countries to strengthen regional cooperation and rely more on their own capabilities, saying Iran’s armed forces have demonstrated their ability to confront a powerful military.

Araghchi made the remarks in a post on X, where he praised the readiness and capabilities of Iran’s armed forces.

“Iran’s powerful armed forces have shown their readiness, capability and might in the face of the world’s most expensive military,” Araghchi wrote.

The Iranian foreign minister also called for greater unity among Muslim countries, saying that collective action could help the region confront external challenges.

“When Muslims stand together, we can face every challenge by malicious outsiders head-on,” he said, concluding with a call to “rely only on ourselves and embrace true brotherhood.”

Araghchi’s remarks come amid heightened regional tensions and months of conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States. Tehran has repeatedly called for stronger regional cooperation while warning against foreign military intervention in the region.

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