Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, held a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, in which the two sides reviewed the latest developments in the diplomatic track between the United States and Iran, on the eve of the expected signing of a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict in the Middle East.
The two ministers discussed the understandings recently reached between Washington and Tehran, as well as the arrangements for the signing ceremony scheduled for Friday at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland. They also addressed preparations for the meeting of the foreign ministers of the “Regional Quartet,” expected to be held later this month, and agreed to maintain close coordination in the period ahead.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry had confirmed that the ceremony for signing the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding, aimed at ending hostilities in West Asia, would take place on Friday, 19 June, at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden. The venue was moved from Geneva to Bürgenstock for security reasons, given that the resort overlooking Lake Lucerne is harder for the general public to reach than Geneva.
Pakistan’s role featured prominently in these developments. The signing location was chosen on the proposal of the Pakistani and Qatari mediators and with the agreement of both the American and Iranian sides, after Switzerland had remained in close contact for days with the United States, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar to facilitate the meeting and receive the delegations on its soil.
In a related development, a senior U.S. official said the memorandum of understanding was signed electronically on Sunday by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with Vance and Ghalibaf set to lead their respective delegations during the in-person signing ceremony in Switzerland.
This diplomatic momentum comes after months of escalation. On Sunday, Tehran and Washington announced they had reached a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that erupted on 28 February with U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, before widening to encompass the broader Middle East.
The “Regional Quartet” referenced by the two ministers comprises Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Its foreign ministers held their first meeting on 19 March 2026 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, followed by meetings on 29 March in Islamabad and on 18 April in the Turkish city of Antalya, during which the ministers expressed support for Pakistan’s mediation efforts between the United States and Iran. Cairo is expected to host the group’s fourth meeting.
اشترك لتصلك أبرز التغطيات والقصص الحصرية من فريق الأسطل مباشرةً إلى بريدك.