TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis held phone talks on Tuesday night over bilateral ties, the JCPOA, the Yemen war, and the situation in Afghanistan.

Pointing to Switzerland’s important position in Europe, Amir Abdollahian said bilateral relations are on the right track, and that the recent visit by the Swiss parliament speaker to Tehran was a turning point in parliamentary relations between Tehran and Bern.

Amir Abdollahian also spoke of the efforts to solve some problems in expanding the activities of Swiss companies in Iran and stressed the need to expand bilateral relations in various fields, including science, education, agriculture, transportation, health and banking.

Iran’s foreign minister announced that Tehran is ready to hold a joint economic commission with Switzerland, and expressed hope that this will occur soon.

The top Swiss diplomat also referred to his visit to Iran on the 100th anniversary of relations between the two countries, describing Iran as an ancient and very attractive country.

Pointing to the importance of the Tehran-Bern relations, Cassis explained the state of the two countries' trade channel.

In the phone conversation, the foreign ministers of Iran and Switzerland reviewed the situation in Afghanistan as well. 

Swiss FM Cassis says Bern is on the same page with Iran on the need for formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

Amir Abdollahian said that Iran encourages the current ruling body in Afghanistan to form an inclusive government. He expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in the country on the eve of the winter and called for international efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs by the Afghans. Amir Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic is ready to help transfer aid to Afghanistan via the Iranian territory.

The Swiss foreign minister said that his country is ready to participate in an international drive to help Afghanistan. He added that Switzerland is prepared to help Afghanistan and neighboring countries. 
Cassis noted that his country is on the same page with Iran regarding the need for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan. 

The Swiss foreign minister also praised Iran for hosting Afghan asylum seekers.

The Iranian foreign minister also lamented the critical situation in Yemen and said Iran supports any effort to lift the siege on the country and end the war on the Yemenis.

Amir Abdollahian also said the talks to lift sanctions against Iran will begin next week in Vienna, stressing that Tehran is ready and serious to reach a good and speedy agreement. He however noted that the Islamic Republic does not trust the U.S. behavior.

He noted that the United States claims it is interested to return to the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, but it has imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies in two stages over the past few weeks. 

Amir Abdollahian added that the U.S. contradictory behavior is one of the main obstacles to negotiations. He also pointed out that Iran judges the United States on the basis of its behavior.