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Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, February 16, 2026. EPA\/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH <\/p>\n
keystone <\/p>\n
Switzerland\u2019s history of neutrality has allowed it to play a part in maintaining communications between enemy states and helping to resolve their disputes. Yet this traditional role is having to adapt to increasing turbulence in international relations.\n<\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
March 16, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n
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\n From cross-strait relations (political and economic relations between China and Taiwan), the US-China rivalry, Sino-Swiss relations, China and its political structures to adaptive development and technological innovation, I report on foreign affairs and their possible impact on Swiss\/Chinese politics, economics and society.
\nA former journalist in Beijing, I am interested in China and its political structures, adaptive development and technological innovation. I studied journalism and communication in China and in Switzerland. Since joining SWI swissinfo.ch in 2015, I have developed a keen interest in international affairs with a focus on China’s relations with other countries\/blocs and where Switzerland stands.\n <\/p>\n
As the US and Israel pound Iran with missiles and the Islamic theocracy retaliates with drone strikes against neighbouring countries, Switzerland has offered itself as a go-between between the warring sides.<\/p>\n The offer reflects its traditional role as a neutral messenger and sometime host of negotiations between adversaries that no longer have direct relations.<\/p>\n Swiss diplomats have represented US interests in Tehran via a \u201cprotecting power mandate\u201d under its good officesExternal link<\/a> since 1980, following Washington\u2019s break in diplomatic relations with Iran after Islamic radicals took American embassy staff hostage in the city in 1979.<\/p>\n Since then, Switzerland has helped with matters including managing consular services, conveying high-level messages, and even assisting with prisoner exchanges.<\/p>\n >>Switzerland has consistently maintained good relations with Iran:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Foreign Affairs\n <\/p>\n The special relationship between Iran and Switzerland <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Mar 3, 2026 <\/p>\n The US-Israeli attack on Iran brings renewed attention to Bern\u2019s special ties to Tehran. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: The special relationship between Iran and Switzerland Yet as international relations recently become more messy \u2013 with trade disputes between the US and China, the war in Ukraine, and jockeying for influence among Gulf states \u2013 the established role of the impartial intermediary is changing. While Switzerland still benefits from its perceived neutrality when offering a channel for talks, the country may increasingly need to partner with nations in the region to maintain credibility.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually impossible from the outside to say to what extent the channel is being used during these dramatic days,\u201d Daniel Moeckli, head of the Center for Security Studies at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, told Swissinfo. \u201cThe Swiss channel has been one of the many channels between the US and Iran, and may have lost some of its earlier dynamics.\u201d<\/p>\n Swiss good offices are \u2018open to all parties\u2019 during conflict<\/p>\n Switzerland \u201cstands ready\u201d to support diplomacy leading to de-escalation, the Swiss foreign ministry saidExternal link<\/a> on February 28, the day that the US and Israel began attacks that killed Iran\u2019s top leaders and destroyed major security installations.<\/p>\n \u201cSwitzerland\u2019s good offices remain available to all parties involved,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Good offices are an instrument of Swiss foreign policy in which the country\u2019s history of military neutrality allows it to act as an impartial third party to help resolve conflicts by hosting peace negotiations, working as a mediator or delivering diplomatic messages.<\/p>\n >>What are these good offices, and why is neutral Switzerland getting involved?<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Foreign Affairs\n <\/p>\n What are Switzerland\u2019s good offices good for? <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Sep 23, 2019 <\/p>\n As tensions and oil prices rise in the Middle East, the Swiss foreign ministry is offering its good offices. But what are they? <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: What are Switzerland\u2019s good offices good for? One example of this was an exchange of prisonersExternal link<\/a> between the US and Iran in 2020 following years of negotiations to build up a climate of trust, where Switzerland\u2019s good offices \u201ccontributed to the successful outcome of this deal\u201d, the foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n The same year, Switzerland also set up a system to provide humanitarian exports such as food and medicine to alleviate the impact on Iranians of economic sanctions imposed on the country because it was pushing to develop nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n US sanctions threat leads to \u2018blanket bans\u2019 on trade<\/p>\n The Swiss Humanitarian Trade ArrangementExternal link<\/a>, a specialised payment mechanism that came into effect in 2020, allows companies and banks to trade humanitarian products with Iran if contracts were submitted to the US for approval.<\/p>\n Even so, given America\u2019s historical inconsistency in its sanctions policy toward Iran \u2013 and other countries \u2013 such diplomatic efforts have long faced significant obstacles. Washington has repeatedly used its position in the global financial system and in dollar\u2011denominated transactions to isolate states it deems \u201cpariahs\u201d, and to weaken any bank or company it believes has violated economic sanctions.<\/p>\n \u201cMany banks now have complete blanket bans on servicing any types of trade to Iran, including exempted goods,\u201d Erica Moret and Esfandyar Batmanghelidj wrote in a 2022 reportExternal link<\/a> for the Brussels-based Friends of Europe think tank. Financial institutions, along with companies trading vital goods, fear \u201cthe risk of billion-dollar fines, cumbersome compliance requirements and reputational risks,\u201d they declared.<\/p>\n Switzerland\u2019s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said six deals had been processed through its humanitarian trade channel in total. Ali Vaez, Iran project director at International Crisis Group, suspects the system has been dormant for several years.<\/p>\n The unfreezingExternal link<\/a> of $6 billion (CHF4.7 billion) of Iranian funds in 2023 for the purchase of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods, agreed by the US, was routed through the Swiss National Bank (SNB) rather than via commercial banks involved in the trade arrangement; this meant the humanitarian trade channel wasn\u2019t used.<\/p>\n The Swiss government decision to join European Union sanctions against Russia after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 may have spooked Tehran and \u201cfuelled fears that funds might end up being frozen again in Switzerland,\u201d Vaez said.<\/p>\n Critics argue against helping \u2018murderous Iranian regime\u2019<\/p>\n The Alpine nation also faces domestic calls to isolate the Iranian regime, which has brutally repressed dissent in recent years, killingExternal link<\/a> as many as tens of thousands of its citizens in 2026.<\/p>\n >>Criticism of Switzerland\u2019s role as a protecting power in Iran is growing:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Best of SRG content\n <\/p>\n Debate flares over Swiss protecting power mandate in Iran <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Mar 2, 2026 <\/p>\n Switzerland represents US interests in Iran \u2014 a long\u2011standing role now coming under scrutiny as tensions escalate in the Middle East. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Debate flares over Swiss protecting power mandate in Iran During an earlier protest movement in 2022, petitions<\/a> by Free Iran Switzerland were submitted to Bern seeking greater sanctions against the Islamic nation following earlier crackdowns on protesters.<\/p>\n Some parliamentarians have recently questioned the relevance of protecting power mandates.<\/p>\n \u201cSwitzerland\u2019s mediation between Tehran and Washington has contributed to stabilising the murderous Iranian regime,\u201d Gerhard Pfister, a Centre Party\u00a0member of the Swiss Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interviewExternal link<\/a> with CH Media in March 2026.<\/p>\n Others argue that the country provides a useful role in keeping communication lines open between belligerents and potentially defusing conflicts. Ultimately, efforts to keep a channel open for dialogue are dependent on \u201cwhether both Iran and the US intend to use it\u201d, said Laurent Goetschel, director of the Swisspeace foundation.<\/p>\n More significant for the future of Switzerland\u2019s role in international diplomacy in the Middle East, however, may be increased interest from powers such as China or states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for involvement in diplomatic negotiations.<\/p>\n Before the recent attacks, Iran and Saudi Arabia restored ties in 2023 following a seven-year rupture in relations after mediation by ChinaExternal link<\/a>. Switzerland wasn\u2019t included in the process, in which Oman and Iraq were also involved, even though the Alpine nation had served as the protecting power for both sides since the third year of their diplomatic break.<\/p>\n \u201cChina carries more weight; we should have no illusions about this,\u201d Fabian Molina, a foreign policy expert and member of Switzerland\u2019s left wing Social Democratic Party, said at the time.<\/a> \u201cA new balance is forming, and China wants to position itself.\u201d<\/p>\n >>China\u2019s success in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia has come as a surprise to many:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Foreign Affairs\n <\/p>\n Switzerland loses two mandates as protecting power <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Mar 27, 2023 <\/p>\n The rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia heralds a reduced role for Switzerland in the region. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Switzerland loses two mandates as protecting power Qatar, host of the US\u2019s largest military base in the Middle East, was also the mediator in the 2023 deal to unfreeze $6 billion of Iranian funds, in exchange for the release of US citizens detained in Iran. Additionally, the Qataris helped persuade Iran to agree to a ceasefire last year after strikes by Israel and the US against military and nuclear sites.<\/p>\n Swiss voiced stronger concerns over US bombing<\/p>\n However, Switzerland still has credibility as a neutral non-Gulf state actor, particularly after Iran reacted to US and Israeli attacks last month with drone and missile strikes against potential negotiation partners in the region such as Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Also\u00a0because\u00a0Qatar refuses to mediate in the conflict while it\u2019s attacked by Iran, as its foreign minister told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n The Swiss have also voiced stronger concerns over US bombing than some other European countries after the attacks started on February 28.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n International Geneva\n <\/p>\n War in Iran: were the negotiations held in Geneva doomed to\u00a0fail?\u00a0 <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Mar 2, 2026 <\/p>\n On Saturday, the United States launched a major offensive against Iran. This came despite two rounds of talks between American and Iranian delegations in Geneva in February, which ended without success. <\/p>\n
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