The US and Iran have drawn up a roadmap to secure a permanent peace deal within 60 days.
The first round of talks in Switzerland between Washington and Tehran concluded early on Monday morning, with mediators Qatar and Pakistan saying that “encouraging progress has been made.”
In a joint statement, the mediating parties said that it was agreed to establish a High Level Committee to lead focused discussions on nuclear, sanctions and a monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding signed last week.
“The High Level Committee has agreed upon a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks,” the joint statement read
In addition, negotiations yielded the creation of a “de-confliction cell,” which will include delegations from the United States, Iran and the Lebanese government, but not Israel, aimed at ending the conflict in Lebanon, the statement continued.
Technical talks are scheduled to continue throughout the week at the Bürgenstock Resort near Lucerne in Switzerland.
Negotiations on Sunday got off to a rough start in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh threat against Iran.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Iranian delegation reportedly refused a photo op with the American delegation and left the negotiating venue in protest.
Speaker of the Iranian parliament and Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took to X, saying: “Don’t they realize that if their threats worked, they wouldn’t be this desperate now? We don’t count on US threats. They’d better watch their words—our armed forces are ready to respond differently. Whatever they say, we’re the ones who act.”
During talks in Switzerland, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held an 80-minute meeting with Ghalibaf and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Associated Press reported.
A senior U.S. diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the American party demanded clarifications about statements made by Iran’s military regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to AP.
Negotiators established an open line of communication to ensure commercial vessels can transit safely through the waterway.
Speaking to the press, Vance said that thanks to Trump, the objectives of opening the strait and the ending of the Iranian nuclear programme had already been accomplished.
“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently? Or, do we go back doing things the old way—which is not our preference but is certainly very much something that can happen,” he went on to say.
According to Axios, Iranian officials protested in private about the threats made by Trump, saying that they violated the first clause in the memorandum, which stipulates a cessation of threats of force.
Talks also focused on “all elements of the nuclear deal,” the report cited a U.S. diplomat as saying.
Araghchi wrote on X that “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War.”
He claimed that Iran had received upfront the waiving of sanctions on oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of the U.S. blockade, the release of some Iranian frozen assets and the launching of a major reconstruction and development plan for Iran.
Iran’s top diplomat moreover framed the de-confliction cell as the “first real test” of the negotiations.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters ahead of the meetings in Lucerne that “we’ve seen great progress over the last just couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon.
“These things are always a little bit messy,” he said. “If you go back to how much was happening three months ago and compare it to three weeks ago, great progress has been made. We’re all working toward regional peace,” the vice president continued, praising cooperation with Qatar, Pakistan and “our friends in Israel.
“There, of course, are going to be sometimes disagreements about precisely how to get there, but I actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon,” he said. “There’s still some additional wood to chop, but we’re going to keep on working at it.”
Vance landed in Switzerland on Sunday morning, joining Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who arrived on Saturday.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran were initially scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday to discuss a final agreement that would end the Iran conflict and define restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear project.
However, Vance delayed his trip to the Alpine country in the wake of hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, NBC News reported.
The United States and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17 that called for the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in Southern Lebanon overnight Thursday when a Hezbollah drone struck their tank. Israeli forces struck more than 80 terrorist targets and killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives following the attack.
Jerusalem and Beirut renewed the fragile ceasefire later on Friday following U.S. mediation efforts.
The top command center of the Iran Armed Forces announced on Saturday it was again shutting maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of Israel’s actions in Lebanon.
“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic; It is noted that this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a recorded message, according to AFP.
Vance spoke with Fox News overnight Friday, saying that the vital shipping lane has been opened, facilitating the transportation of 16 million barrels of oil per day.
Asked if Iranian forces are redirecting vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said he was “sceptical” of such reports. The vice president noted that mines are still present in the 20-mile stretch of the choke point, and therefore it could be that Iran’s navy had warned ships against crossing in these areas.
He continued that de-mining the strait could take up to 30 days, as stressed in the MoU.
“But no, we’re not seeing any evidence of the Iranians still closing the Strait of Hormuz. It is going to take some time to clear those mines though,” he said.
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