Iran struck a cautiously optimistic tone on Monday following the first round of official negotiations with the U.S. in Switzerland, reassuring hardliners that the Islamic republic will not make any concessions before ensuring Washington does as well.
Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said Iran’s negotiators were en route to Tehran after conducting several hours of intensive discussions on “the implementation of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding” with the U.S.
He also confirmed the U.S. and Iran had agreed to create “executive mechanisms” for supervising the implementation of the memorandum’s provisions. Pakistan and Qatar, who have been mediating discussions between Iran and the U.S., had announced the creation of the mechanisms earlier on Monday.
Mr. Baghaei added that expert-level technical talks surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the future of the U.S. sanctions regime would take place this week.
However, Mr. Baghaei indicated the memorandum of understanding only allows for negotiations over a final agreement to take place once there is a full ceasefire in Lebanon, the U.S.’ naval blockade is removed, the Strait of Hormuz is open, and Iran’s assets are unfrozen.
“The basis of the work is ‘commitment for commitment,’ and the Islamic Republic of Iran, while monitoring the implementation of the other side’s commitments, will utilize all its levers to ensure the fulfillment of those commitments,” he said.
The U.S. officially ended its blockade of Iranian ports last week, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has steadily picked up since the signing of the memorandum. However, the situation remains tense, with Iran claiming to have closed the waterway over the weekend, and traffic is still much lower than pre-war levels.
Washington has also indicated that it wishes to condition sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iran’s assets. Vice President J.D. Vance on Monday said the U.S. wants to ensure that Iran’s assets are used to help the people of the country, not for terrorism.
“One of the other things that we wanted to do was set up a process where if we ever unfreeze Iranian assets, we can ensure that Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism,” Mr. Vance told reporters in Switzerland.
He added that Iran may be required to spend the money on American farm goods such as soy, corn or wheat.
Mr. Baghaei appeared somewhat aimed at hardliners within Iran, who have consistently urged negotiators not to participate in talks with the U.S.
Hossein Shariatmadari, who edits Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper, said negotiators should abandon talks to humiliate President Trump.
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