PM Shehbaz expresses hope for 'long-lasting' US-Iran agreement after MoU

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said he hoped the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran would move towards a durable settlement, as he briefed the National Assembly on the latest diplomatic engagement between the two sides.

Referring to talks held over the weekend in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock, the prime minister said delegations from Washington and Tehran held lengthy discussions with Pakistan and Qatar taking part as mediators. He told the house that Pakistan had worked sincerely to help narrow differences between the two sides.

Shehbaz said the dialogue began on Sunday and continued past midnight into Monday. He also noted that a joint statement by the mediators was issued in the early hours of Monday after the talks ended, setting out that technical-level discussions between the US and Iran would continue over the next 60 days.

According to the prime minister, the negotiations are to cover Iran’s nuclear assets, ballistic missiles and frozen assets. He expressed the hope that the understanding already reached would eventually become a long-lasting agreement.

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