Overall, the Iranian assessment of the talks with the U.S. in Burgenstock, Switzerland was positive. Esmaeil Baqaei, the foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters from IRNA and IRIB this morning that good progress was made regarding the implementation of commitments under the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, saying the main reason for the Iranian presence was to demand the implementation of commitments under the MOU.
Referring to Iran’s concerns and the other party’s responsibilities, he said that the insulting and threatening comments of the U.S. president published by the media, prior to the meeting, prompted the Iranian delegation to explicitly announce its rejection of the quadrilateral meeting (that is, the U.S. and Iran in the same room with the Pakistani and Qatari mediators -ed.). However, Baqaei added that the talks continued with the efforts of mediators Qatar and Pakistan, as well as Iran’s insistence that it would not be direct, rather within the quadrilateral framework and through exchange of messages.
He underscored that the Iranian delegation under Ghalibaf, whether in bilateral meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, or during the four-party talks, largely expressed concerns about the other party’s breach of obligations; especially the continued violation of the ceasefire by the Israeli regime. “Basically, the philosophy of our presence in Switzerland was to demand the fulfillment of the other party’s obligations. I have already emphasized that the Iranian delegation’s view is that we must somehow get the other party to comply with its obligations, “ he said
Baqaei added that the exchange of messages later in the day in Switzerland resulted in some positive developments, one of which concerned Clause 1 of the MoU, and that a mechanism was envisaged with mediators present to monitor the continuation of the ceasefire.