The White House announced in a statement that Ueli Maurer, the President of Swiss, will arrive in Washington on Thursday without prior notice to discuss Iran and recent tensions.
The US president Donald Trump will reportedly discuss with Maurer “matters such as Switzerland’s role in facilitating diplomatic relations and other international issues,” said the statement.
The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Iran but Switzerland is serving as protecting power for the US in Tehran.
Tensions are increasing between US and Iran, with Washington deploying a navy carrier strike group to the Middle East as it is receiving frequent threatening messages from Iranian authorities.
Last week, Trump passed a direct phone number to Swiss, in case the Iranian authorities wanted to contact the Americans.
So far Tehran showed no interest publicly in starting dialogue with Washington. The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said any negotiation with Americans would be akin to “poison.”
