US-Iran Peace Deal Negotiations Show Encouraging Progress

Qatari and Pakistani mediators said on Monday that negotiations on a U.S.-Iran peace deal showed “encouraging progress” and that talks will continue at a technical level.

The statement came after the U.S., Iran and the two mediating countries concluded talks in Switzerland, which marked the first high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran since the start of the war in late February. The two countries signed a preliminary agreement last week aimed at ending hostilities, opening a 60-day window to negotiate a final deal.

“The Lake Lucerne Summit was conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere,” said Monday’s statement from Qatar and Pakistan. “Encouraging progress has been made including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks.”

The negotiations in Switzerland resulted in the creation of a “communication line” between the U.S. and Iran to coordinate the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the statement. The memorandum of understanding signed last week had stated that during the 60-day window, the two countries would lift their blockades of the critical waterway without charging passage fees.

The peace talks, hosted at the luxury Bürgenstock resort on Lake Lucerne, also created a “de-confliction cell” between the countries and Lebanon in order to help end the ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance led the American delegation in Sunday’s negotiations, alongside U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The Iranian delegation included chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as senior oil, security and central bank officials.

Technical negotiations will continue this week at the Bürgenstock resort, and will include Iran’s nuclear regime and U.S. sanctions.