In comments on Sunday, Esmaeil Baqaei, also the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said the meetings in Switzerland are focused on monitoring implementation of commitments made under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed on June 18.
Baqaei said the one-day program includes separate morning meetings between the Iranian delegation and Qatari and Pakistani mediators, followed by a quadrilateral meeting in the afternoon involving representatives of Iran, the United States, Qatar, and Pakistan.
He said Iran began pursuing implementation of the memorandum immediately after its signing, emphasizing that “implementing any document is more important than signing it.”
“The diplomatic process to reach an outcome is one issue, but the far more important issue is ensuring implementation,” he stated.
Baqaei said the Switzerland meeting reflects Iran’s determination to demand and follow up on the other side’s commitments, adding that Tehran never intended to sign an agreement and assume it would automatically be implemented.
“We have absolutely not forgotten previous experiences,” he said, stressing that the current round is centered on securing implementation of the understanding.
According to Baqaei, Article 13 of the memorandum explicitly states that negotiations toward a final agreement are conditional upon implementation of five specified provisions, including the first clause concerning a halt to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
He said Tehran believes that provision has not yet been implemented and accused Washington of either being unable or unwilling to ensure compliance, while saying the Israeli regime continues to violate commitments.
“This is the main issue in today’s discussions,” he said.
Baqaei noted that several other provisions also require preparatory measures, particularly the release and accessibility of Iran’s blocked assets and the issuance of the necessary authorizations for Iranian oil and petrochemical exports.
“These were issues from the moment the memorandum was concluded, and now we must see whether those discussions will translate into effective implementation,” he said.
The spokesman said Iran has maintained continuous exchanges of messages through mediators in order to verify implementation of the MoU and described the current meeting as part of that process.
He underlined that the primary purpose of the talks is to ensure fulfillment of commitments by the other side and to confirm that the prerequisites for launching final negotiations have been achieved.
Baqaei added that Iran seeks guarantees regarding implementation of US commitments, particularly those related to access to frozen Iranian assets and facilitating oil and petrochemical sales.
He described the current talks as a forum for ensuring compliance and discussing violations in order to find solutions.
He said the talks are expected to continue until the evening and emphasized that all of Iran’s concerns will be presented explicitly during the quadrilateral session.
Baqaei finally stressed that the Iranian delegation would show “no compromise or leniency” in pursuing Iran’s national interests and said Tehran is acting in full coordination across state institutions to ensure implementation of the commitments set out in the memorandum.