Switzerland announced on Sunday that it has reopened its embassy in Tehran, which had been temporarily closed amid rising tensions following an exchange of airstrikes between Iran and Israel. The embassy will also resume its role as the official representative of US interests in Iran.
In a statement, the Swiss foreign ministry said the embassy was reopened as of Sunday, after being shut on June 20 due to instability in the region.
Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano and a small team returned to Tehran on Saturday, travelling overland via Azerbaijan. The embassy will now gradually resume full operations, the ministry added.
“Having now returned to Tehran, Switzerland is once again in a position to fulfil its role as a protecting power for US interests in Iran,” the statement read.
Switzerland has served as a diplomatic intermediary between the United States and Iran since 1980, when formal ties between the two countries were severed.
Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of nuclear talks since April 12. However, a planned sixth round, scheduled for June 15 and mediated by Oman, was cancelled after an Israeli strike on Iran triggered a regional military escalation.
Citing concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel launched airstrikes last month on suspected Iranian nuclear sites, reportedly killing several senior military officials and nuclear scientists.
In response, US President Donald Trump authorized airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in central Iran overnight on June 21–22.
Tehran, denying it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, retaliated with strikes on Israel before a ceasefire was reached on June 24.
AFP
