Iran said on Sunday that administrative procedures for the release of its frozen funds had been finalised, as technical talks with the United States in Switzerland focused on ending the war, sanctions relief and unfreezing Iranian assets. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the negotiations also covered relief from restrictions on Iranian oil exports, according to state media cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile member of Iran’s negotiating team, Hussein Ghorban Zadeh, said a final draft had been prepared for exemptions from sanctions on Iranian oil, adding that the relief would be issued soon.
“The administrative procedures related to the restoration of frozen Iranian funds have been settled,” Ghorban Zadeh said.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan and the United States shared longstanding relations and thanked US President Donald Trump for his commitment to Pakistan.
“Pakistan and the United States have strengthened their relationship over time,” the prime minister said.
‘No tolls on Hormuz’
Earlier US President Donald Trump declared that no maritime tolls will be levied on vessels navigating the vital Strait of Hormuz during or after the newly brokered 60-day interim ceasefire with Iran.
In a high-stakes warning on his Truth Social, he said that Washington reserves the right to impose its own financial penalties should the ongoing peace talks in Switzerland collapse.
“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote in a late-night post.
He quickly turned the screws on regional players, adding that tolls would only be enacted if they are “imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed.”
He justified potential future fees as a bill for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.”
The announcement comes at a highly delicate moment, hitting global airwaves just as technical delegations from the US and Iran sit down under Pakistani and Qatari mediation in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.
By threatening to turn the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most crucial oil chokepoint — into a US-controlled toll zone if diplomacy fails, Trump has effectively drawn a financial and military line in the sand.
Diplomatic observers note that while the statement guarantees immediate smooth sailing for global energy markets during the 60-day truce, it places immense pressure on Iranian negotiators to finalise a permanent peace treaty or face a crushing American maritime blockade.
In another post, Trump said: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!