Iranian FM: Talks Between Iran and US on Final Agreement to Begin Friday

Teheran (ANTARA) - Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated on Tuesday that negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding a final agreement will begin on Friday, after both parties formally sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war, according to Iran’s official news agency, IRNA. Araghchi made the remarks during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran, outlining the contents of the peace MoU finalised on Sunday between Iran and the US through Pakistani mediation. “A new round of negotiations between Iran and the US to reach a final agreement is likely to begin on Friday at a location to be determined,” Araghchi said, explaining that given the difficulty of reaching an agreement due to “criminal aggression” by the US and Israel against his country, “we ultimately decided to divide the negotiations into two stages.” He said the first stage concerns the finalisation of the MoU for issues such as the cessation of war, the Strait of Hormuz, the US naval blockade of Iran, frozen Iranian assets, and reconstruction of war damage. Araghchi added that in the second stage, negotiations will continue for 60 days to reach a final agreement on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Araghchi stated that in the first stage, the most important development will be the declaration of the end of the war, emphasising, “Based on the decision we made, the cessation of war was also announced on Monday morning when the agreement was finalised, but the official implementation of the MoU will begin on Friday.” The foreign minister described the cessation of war as “immediate and permanent” on all fronts, including Lebanon, likely being the most important issue in the MoU, stating that this is due to the linkage between the war in Lebanon and Israeli “aggression” in southern Lebanon with the war against Iran, making both fronts now interconnected and dependent on one another. Araghchi portrayed the cessation of war in Lebanon as an “inseparable” part of the Iran-US peace MoU, while stressing, “The cessation of war also includes the end of (Israeli) occupation. The cessation of war is not complete without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the (Lebanese) territories they occupied in this war.” Araghchi emphasised that from now on, Iran considers any military attack launched by Israel against Lebanon and the continued occupation of Lebanese territories a violation of the peace MoU. The US, Pakistan, and Iran announced on Monday morning the finalisation of the MoU regarding the cessation of war following several weeks of negotiations, adding that it will be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday. On 28 February, Israel and the US launched airstrikes against Tehran and other cities in Iran. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region.