The US, Iran agree on the direction of the final agreement and plan to end military operations in Lebanon
The US and Iran made progress during talks in Switzerland on Monday on reaching a final agreement within 60 days, including an agreement to establish a committee and a way to end hostilities in Lebanon.
“The Lake Lucerne Summit was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere. Encouraging progress has been made, including the creation of a way to continue technical discussions,” according to a joint statement by Qatar and Pakistan negotiators.
Building on the cooperation agreement signed last week, the parties agreed to establish a “High Level Committee” to provide political guidance on the settlement. The chief negotiator will report regularly to the committee and lead working groups on nuclear weapons, sanctions, and conflict resolution, according to a joint statement.
The parties also agreed to establish a “de-confliction” cell between the US, Iran and Lebanon, run by mediating countries, to ensure a complete end to the military conflict in Lebanon.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as bringing “great progress,” and said Tehran had achieved what he described as the cessation of oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of the embargo on its ports, the release of some frozen goods and the launch of a reconstruction and development program.
In a statement to X, Araghchi said the newly established mechanism to end the conflict in Lebanon would be the “first real test” of the agreement, stressing concerns that continued violence there could threaten a broader negotiation effort.
Vice President JD Vance, who arrived in Switzerland on Sunday after delaying his planned Friday trip due to logistics issues, led the US delegation to the talks.
A US official involved in the talks told reporters earlier in the day that both delegations were continuing and expected talks to continue through the night, denying reports that Iran had walked out of the talks.
“We have had robust discussions on all aspects of the nuclear deal. We plan to continue working on these issues and are using today’s exercise as a starting point for further technical discussions that continue,” the US official said.
“The topics of discussion include clarifying some of the confusing messages from Iran in the Strait and the creation of ways to end the conflict to ensure that the Strait will remain fully open. We also worked on ways to end the conflict and enforce a ceasefire in southern Lebanon,” said the official.
Under the memorandum, both sides agreed to reopen the free Strait of Hormuz for at least 60 days and end all conflicts, including in Lebanon, where war continues between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The talks continued under a cloud of tension. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Saturday that it will close the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
The US military has denied those claims, saying the waterway remains open and that “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.” An Iranian news agency is reported to have said that Iranian officials will end the strike until a deal is reached in Lebanon and sanctions on Iranian oil exports are lifted.
Trump later wrote on Truth Social that “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” referring to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon.
“If they don’t, we will hit Iran hard again, like we did last week, very hard!!!” Trump wrote.
Earlier on Sunday, Vance expressed confidence in the talks despite Iran’s latest threat to cut off the flow.
He also downplayed the impact of the violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made to end the conflict there. “These things are always messy,” he said.
Despite Trump’s threats of possible military action, Vance said the US president “asked us to turn over a new leaf to change our relationship with the people of Iran.”
Vance also said negotiators are focused on getting Iran’s enriched uranium to make it “impossible” for Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program. He added that the US has retained great economic power if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.
Technical talks are expected to continue at the resort of Bürgenstock throughout the week as the parties work towards a final agreement within 60 days.
– Emily Huang and Yun Li contributed to this report.
