The initial round of high-level talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland concluded on Monday, following a tense start marked by Iran's declaration to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to resume attacks on Iran.
A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan announced that the U.S. and Iran agreed on a roadmap to reach a final agreement within 60 days. As per the Qatari Foreign Ministry's statement, technical discussions will continue throughout the week at the Qatari-owned Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland.
The statement added that parties agreed on a mechanism to end fighting in Lebanon and opened a communication line to ensure the safe passage of commercial ships through the disputed strait.
J.D. Vance, U.S. Vice President, commenced discussions with Iranian officials on Sunday under the terms of an understanding reached last week to extend the fragile ceasefire initiated in April by at least another 60 days. The negotiations continued into the early hours of Monday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a social media post, announced that Iran secured exemptions for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets, and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan in Iran.
The White House has not commented yet on whether the talks have wrapped up for now.
Just before the official commencement of talks on Sunday, Fox News reported that Trump warned Iranian officials they “won't have a country” if they attempt to close the strait again. Trump reiterated a prior threat that the U.S. would take control of the waterway and might impose its own transit fees.
American and Iranian sources provided separate accounts of the discussions in Switzerland.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing a knowledgeable source, reported that after Trump's public threats, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the hall where the talks were held, although message exchanges continued via Pakistani and Qatari mediators.
According to the Tasnim source, Iranian representatives stated that starting negotiations on nuclear issues required implementing other parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of frozen assets and U.S. exemptions allowing Iranian oil exports.
An American diplomat involved in the talks told Reuters, “The Iranians never left and are still here, meeting and negotiating late into the night. We've discussed the strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues, and implementation details of the memorandum of understanding, among other issues.”
An American official indicated high-level discussions are expected to conclude Monday, with the technical team remaining for further conversations.
The agreement called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global energy shipments, and ceasing all fighting, including in Lebanon, where Israel continues raids resulting in casualties as Iran-aligned Hezbollah fires on Israeli targets.
The Iranian delegation claimed the U.S. had not fulfilled its commitment to cease fighting in Lebanon; thus, Iran halted maritime traffic through the strait again, asserting that talks on Sunday would not cover substantive issues like the Iranian nuclear program.
In talks attended by Qatari mediators, Vance downplayed Lebanon's violence impact, stating progress was made towards ending hostilities there.
In the U.S., Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran unless it reins in its allies.
On social media, Trump demanded, “Iran must immediately curb their highly-paid agents in Lebanon causing trouble,” referring to Hezbollah.
“If they don't, we'll hit Iran extremely hard again, even harder than last week,” he continued.
While Trump threatened Iran, Vance told reporters the U.S. President instructed the team to “open a new chapter to change our relationship with the Iranian people.”
An American diplomat late Sunday mentioned discussions included “clarifying some confusing messages coming from Iran about the strait and setting up frameworks to end the conflict to ensure the strait remains fully open.”
Iran attributes the strait's closure to Lebanon's situation.
Despite a new ceasefire in Lebanon announced Friday, little sign emerged of the fighting's cessation. Consequently, Iran announced closing the strait again, having disrupted global energy supplies for nearly four months, marking the largest disturbance in history.
U.S. officials denied the strait's reclosing, but available commercial shipping data showed an immediate impact. Data from Kpler indicated that five ships passed through the strait on Sunday, a sharp drop from 26 vessels the previous day. The data might exclude ships turning off location signals during transit.
Fars News Agency cited an Iranian military source saying no transit permits are being issued for any vessels until further notice.
Trump agreed to the memorandum to avoid a global recession due to rising oil prices from strait closure.
Following the agreement announcement, crude prices fell to levels unseen since the conflict's beginning.
Brent crude futures rose by over a dollar to $81.66 per barrel in early Monday trading after the rocky start to peace talks.
Sunday appeared the quietest in Lebanon for a while, with no major violence reported by nightfall after two days of heavy Israeli strikes and Hezbollah fighters firing at Israeli positions.
Over a million individuals have fled their homes in Lebanon since Israel invaded in March to pursue Hezbollah fighters firing across borders in support of Tehran.
Reuters journalists witnessed some of the heaviest traffic jams since the memorandum's signing as residents returned to their southern homes. Some stood beside parked cars on the highway, waving Hezbollah flags.