US and Iran Make Progress in Switzerland Nuclear Talks, Agree on Lebanon De-escalation

The U.S. and Iran made progress during talks in Switzerland on Monday toward reaching a final deal within 60 days, including the agreement to establish a committee and a mechanism to end hostilities in Lebanon.

"The Lake Lucerne Summit was conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere. Encouraging progress has been made, including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks," according to a joint statement by mediating parties Qatar and Pakistan.

Building on a memorandum of understanding signed last week, the parties agreed to establish a "High Level Committee" that will provide political oversight of the mediation. Chief negotiators will report regularly to the committee and lead working groups on nuclear, sanctions, and dispute resolution, according to the joint statement.

The parties also agreed to establish a "de-confliction" cell between the U.S., Iran and Lebanon, facilitated by the mediating countries, to ensure full termination of military hostilities in Lebanon.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as having delivered "major progress," saying Tehran had secured what he described as waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of the blockade on its ports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan.

In a post on X, Araghchi said the newly established deconfliction mechanism in Lebanon would be the "first real test" of the agreement, underscoring concerns that continued violence there could threaten the broader diplomatic effort.

Vice President JD Vance, who arrived in Switzerland on Sunday after delaying his planned Friday departure over logistical issues, led the U.S. delegation at the talks.

A senior U.S. diplomat involved in the talks told reporters earlier in the day that both delegations remained engaged and expected discussions to continue through the night, rejecting reports that Iran had left the negotiations.

"We've had robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal. We plan to continue working through each of these issues and using today's work as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward," the U.S. official said.

"Topics of discussion have included clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open. We have also worked through deconfliction mechanisms and enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon," the official said.

Under the memorandum, both sides agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz toll-free for at least 60 days and to end all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where fighting has persisted between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The negotiations proceeded under a cloud of escalating tensions. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

The U.S. military has denied those claims, stating the waterway remained open and that "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz." Iran's Tasnim news ⁠agency reportedly said that Iranian officials would keep the strait closed until a ceasefire ⁠in Lebanon ‌was achieved and sanctions on Iranian oil sales were 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 Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

"If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!" Trump wrote.

Earlier Sunday, Vance expressed optimism about the negotiations despite Iran's latest threat to shut the strait.

He also downplayed the impact of violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there. "These things are always a little bit messy," he said.

Despite Trump's threat of possible military action, Vance said that the U.S. president had "asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran."

Vance also said negotiators were focused on securing Iran's enriched uranium stockpile to make it "effectively impossible" for Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program. He added that the U.S. retained significant economic leverage if Iran failed to comply with the agreement.

Technical discussions are expected to continue at the Bürgenstock resort throughout the week as the parties work toward a final agreement within 60 days.

— Emily Huang and Yun Li contributed to this report.