Swiss #BackChannel helped defuse U.S.-Iran crisis

The US and Iran have exchanged recent messages via Swiss diplomatic channel, according to the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a source familiar with the channel.

The Swiss statement implied that both sides were involved in the message sending, though it does not detail which country triggered the messaging or if the conversation is ongoing. The source did not specify how recent messages were exchanged.

This diplomatic channel is always available and used regularly for consular issues, and it was relied on heavily during the prisoner exchange late last year. But in a crisis situation, the use of the channel is much more noteworthy, explained a source familiar with the channel.