US vice president JD Vance has said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” as they negotiate bringing a permanent end to the war that the US and Israel began in February.
“The final deal is the house,” Mr Vance told reporters after initial talks with Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”
Iran noted “major progress” to end the fighting in Lebanon and called that the first real test of the negotiations.
The mediation effort in Switzerland, which started on Sunday and stretched into early Monday, had rocky moments. But the talks also led to some agreements, mediators said, as technical talks continue this week.
The vice president suggested that the US could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of US soy, corn and wheat.
He said that Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump and one of the lead US negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.
Mr Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, but Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people”.
Iran, which has pressed for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, has not spoken about the idea of using the funds to purchase American products. The assets have been made inaccessible over years of sanctions, banking restrictions and legal disputes imposed by the US and the international community on the Islamic Republic.
In a joint statement, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said that while the high-level engagement had ended, technical negotiations would continue in Switzerland.
The mediators hailed “encouraging progress”.
The interim deal to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the US and Iran, sets a 60-day period for negotiators on issues including the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme amid concerns that it wants to use it for military purposes, a claim Iran denies.
Mr Vance and US officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy shipments, remains open and that a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon holds.
While he was returning to Washington, Mr Vance said the technical talks are critical.
“We wanted to set up a structure for that so that you could have proper political oversight, but obviously, as much as this place is very beautiful, I can’t stay here for the next 60 days,” Mr Vance told reporters.
US envoys Mr Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling many of the technical details.
The talks were jolted by statements from Mr Trump, who fired off comments from thousands of miles away that offended the Iranians.
Iranian state media said talks had paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president”.
Ultimately, the Iranians remained on site and negotiations continued, according to a senior US diplomat.
The diplomat said among the issues discussed was Iran’s messaging as it related to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran’s military said it closed on Saturday in response to continued fighting in Lebanon. US Central Command has disputed that Iran closed the strait again.
Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had vowed to “never back down from the right to enrich uranium”, according to state media.
Mr Trump on Sunday told Fox News in a phone interview that Mr Pezeshkian should watch what he says and also threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the news channel’s correspondents.
Mr Trump also posted on social media as negotiators worked: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2068840668873597237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Pakistani and Qatari mediators delivered “major progress to end the Lebanon War”. But, he added, the first “real test” of negotiations would be whether the mechanism succeeded in halting the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Iran has insisted on first addressing the fighting in Lebanon. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the US-Iran deal.
A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to be holding, and Israel’s military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the Israel-Lebanon border on Monday.
Cautious calm continued on Monday in Lebanon, with no Israeli strikes reported overnight. Hezbollah has not announced any attacks on Israeli forces since Saturday.
The lull in fighting in Lebanon is the longest since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2.