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Iran live updates: US and Iran agree to roadmap for 'final deal' within 60 days
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran opened talks in Switzerland on Sunday.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the United States and Iran arrived over the weekend at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, where they entered negotiations aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed last week by both countries.
Key Headlines
Iranian official says technical talks begin in Switzerland
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that technical talks between experts have begun in Switzerland under the framework of the memorandum of understanding, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Monday.
The technical talks follow Sunday's discussions between high-level U.S. and Iranian delegations. Those talks ended early on Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif said.
Baqaei told IRNA that Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, is leading the Iranian delegation in the technical negotiations.
According to a joint statement issued by the mediators, the technical working groups will focus on nuclear issues, sanctions, monitoring mechanisms and dispute-resolution procedures, with negotiations set to continue in Switzerland through the end of the week.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Victoria Beaule
Iranian delegation leaves talks, heading back to Tehran
The Iranian delegation in Switzerland has left the talks and is heading back to Tehran, Iran's state media reported early on Monday, citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, who is leading the Iranian delegation, "left the building where the negotiations were held on Monday, following approximately 18 hours of intensive dialogue and consultations," Iran's state broadcaster reported.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
US and Iran to seek 'final deal' within 60 days under newly agreed roadmap
The United States and Iran agreed on Sunday to negotiate toward a war-ending deal within a 60-day timeframe, according to Pakistan and Qatar, which are mediating the ongoing talks in Switzerland.
The delegations agreed on Sunday to create a "High Level" committee to "provide political oversight" for the talks, and that new committee in turn agreed to a 60-day roadmap, the mediators said in a joint statement early on Monday.
The fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, remained a key point for Iranian negotiators going into Sunday’s talks, officials in Tehran said.
The U.S. and Iran agreed on Sunday to a “deconfliction cell,” a group that will include officials from Tehran and Washington alongside Lebanese officials. That group will seek "to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon as per the MoU," the mediators said.
Whether the "deconfliction cell" will be able to make headway in stopping the fighting in Lebanon will mark the "1st real test" for the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday.
Israel’s defense minister said in a statement on Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces did not plan to leave the areas in southern Lebanon where they’re fighting Hezbollah.
Araghchi otherwise praised Pakistan and Qatar for delivering "major progress" for their efforts in ending the war.
"Technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues," Pakistan and Qatar said in their joint statement. "The mediating parties will continue to do their utmost to ensure that the negotiations continue to be conducted in a constructive atmosphere with the aim of reaching a final deal."