US Vice President JD Vance said talks on Iran's nuclear programme are expected to start this week as he reported "good progress" made in an opening round of negotiations in Switzerland for a durable peace.
The talks in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock ended on Monday with mediators Qatar and Pakistan unveiling a roadmap toward a final agreement. They concluded on a more positive note than they began, after a turbulent opening marked by tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, conflicting accounts of the negotiations and fresh threats from US President Donald Trump.
Asked when talks on the nuclear issue would begin, Mr Vance told reporters in Burgenstock: "I expect that will happen at the minimum this week. But we think even some of those conversations with the inspectors and with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] could happen as soon as today."
Mr Vance stated that in the event of frozen Iranian funds being released, they would be used to buy American products.
"We wanted to make sure that we set up a process where if we ever unfreeze Iranian assets we can ensure ... that Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism," he said.
In a joint statement, Qatar and Pakistan said the parties had agreed on “a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days” and established a high-level committee to oversee the process.
The mediators said the summit was conducted in a “positive and constructive atmosphere” and that “encouraging progress has been made including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks”.
The statement came at 3.07am (5.07am Gulf time) following overnight negotiations that set out a framework for the next round of talks.
Eighteen-hour marathon
The Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf left the talks venue and was returning to Tehran after nearly 18 hours of negotiations and consultations, state television reported. Officials from both sides stayed behind, however, for technical negotiations on implementing the roadmap.
The war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands were killed as the conflict widened, with Iran striking Gulf states and halting maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Among the most concrete outcomes of the Swiss talks was an agreement to establish a direct communications line between the parties to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy shipping chokepoint.
The joint statement said the channel was intended to “avoid incidents and miscommunication” and to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the waterway, which Iran had again threatened to close at the weekend.
The parties also agreed to establish a “de-confliction cell” involving Lebanon and facilitated by Qatar and Pakistan. The mechanism is intended to ensure compliance with the cessation of military operations in Lebanon, a conflict that has increasingly become intertwined with the wider US-Iran confrontation.
The Lebanon issue loomed over the talks from the outset. Tehran had justified its latest move to halt maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz by arguing the US had failed to uphold commitments to end the fighting in Lebanon.
Trump threat
Mr Vance said the objective was a regional ceasefire that includes Lebanon and Israel.
"We do believe of course it's going to require a lot of hard work that we can get to a place where Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty is protected," he said. Iran would have to also "rein in Hezbollah", he added.
On the eve of the talks, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was shutting the Strait of Hormuz until US ally Israel halted its attacks on Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political movement that Tehran funds, arms and trains.
Mr Trump sharpened the pressure on Iran. In a social media post, he warned the Islamic republic to “immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble”, referring to Hezbollah.
“If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!” Trump wrote. Fox News said he also told Iranian officials that if they attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz again, “you won't have a country”.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian negotiators refused to return to the room after Mr Trump's comments became public, insisting that implementation of earlier commitments — including the release of frozen assets and waivers for Iranian oil exports — must come before substantive nuclear discussions.
Mr Vance acknowledged there had been threats and heated rhetoric from the Iranian side, including suggestions that Tehran could leave the talks, but said negotiations remained on track.
"There was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining, but at the end of the day the talks continued, and we made great progress," the US Vice President said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more triumphant tone after the talks concluded. In a post on X, he credited “tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation” with delivering “major progress” towards ending the war in Lebanon.
Mr Araghchi said Iran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of blockades, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan. None of those measures was mentioned in the mediators' joint statement, and the White House did not immediately comment on his claims.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would respect the ceasefire in Lebanon as long as it was not violated by Hezbollah. “We don’t have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but we will not withdraw from the security zone and expose our citizens to Hezbollah’s attacks and possible invasion,” he said.
