US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday that his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final agreement” as they seek a permanent end to the war that the United States and Israel began in late February.
Vance and US officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including establishing “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy shipments, remains open and addressing fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, where a ceasefire appears to be holding.
The Vice President left Switzerland while the technical teams were still in place to negotiate. He stressed that the key for President Donald Trump will be Iran’s actions, not its words.
“My point is that I trust actions, and what the president has asked us to do is check what they do, and focus less on what they say,” Vance said.
Iran effectively closed the strait after the attack by the United States and Israel on February 28, sending fuel prices skyrocketing outside the region. The interim agreement to end the war was supposed to reopen the canal. Dozens of ships passed through it over the weekend, although the main road remains mined and closed.
Shortly after those attacks, Hezbollah and Israel also entered the war, with Hezbollah firing missiles and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel, and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon. Iran insists that addressing the fighting in Lebanon is a crucial element of any agreement to end the broader conflict.
Iran noted the “significant progress” made in ending the fighting in Lebanon and described it as the first real test of the negotiations.
In other developments, the US Treasury Department issued a 60-day authorization to waive sanctions on Iranian oil as part of the interim agreement. It is worth noting that the license allows the import of Iranian oil to the United States, which has not imported large quantities of Iranian oil since the 1990s.
The State Department also announced Monday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel this week to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain to discuss the latest developments in Iran.
Trump was not in Switzerland, but he loomed large over the talks
Mediation efforts began in Switzerland on Sunday and extended into early Monday.
“We have not built the house, but we have laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people,” Vance told reporters after preliminary talks with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
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Trump did not attend what was called the “Lake Lucerne Summit,” but his presence was very visible. The talks were rocked by Trump’s statements, who, from thousands of miles away, made comments that insulted the Iranians.
Iranian state media said the talks were halted after “the publication of an insulting message by the US President.” Negotiations continued later.
Vance floats to unfreeze Iranian assets to buy American goods
The Vice President suggested that the United States agree to unfreeze Iranian assets to purchase American soybeans, corn, and wheat. He added that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of the chief American negotiators, raised the idea with officials from Qatar.
Vance said that Qatar would obtain approval for this operation, and that the Iranian funds that would be accessible with the lifting of sanctions would buy American products “for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Iran, which has pushed for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, has not commented on the idea. The assets were frozen over years of sanctions, banking restrictions and legal disputes imposed by the United States and the international community.
High-level talks have ended but technical talks continue
In a joint statement, the mediators Pakistan and Qatar praised what they described as “encouraging progress.”
The interim agreement to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by US and Iranian leaders, sets a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies.
Vance said the technical talks, which were scheduled to continue this week, were crucial. US envoys Kushner and Steve Witkoff are dealing with many technical details.
More ships pass through the strait
Meanwhile, more ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz. According to data and analytics company Kpler, there were 71 confirmed crossings over the weekend, with a peak of 35 crossings on Saturday. Before the war, between 100 and 130 ships passed through the strait every day.
Ships avoid the central route to avoid mines, choosing instead to use the smaller northern route, which passes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which passes through Omani waters. In the markets, US oil prices fell by more than 2% in Monday afternoon trading to $74.66 per barrel.
Trump made clear over the weekend that he was troubled by Iranian public comments regarding the strait, which the Iranian military said it closed on Saturday in response to ongoing fighting in Lebanon. US Central Command doubted that Iran had closed the strait again.
Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged to “never back away from the right to enrich uranium,” according to state media.
On Sunday, Trump told Fox News in a phone interview that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and threatened to seize Iran, according to a correspondent for the news channel.
Trump also posted on social media while negotiators were working: “Iran must immediately stop its highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we will hit Iran hard again, just like we did last week, but harder!!!”
The Iranians agree that progress has been made on their main issue
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the mediators had made “significant progress to end the Lebanon war.” But he said the first “real test” of the negotiations would be whether the mechanism would succeed in stopping the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed the US-Iranian agreement.
But as of Monday evening in the Middle East, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be holding.
“We have not detected tracks from either side since yesterday,” said Tilak Pokharel, spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL.
Pokharel said that Israeli airspace violations and military movements continue.
Hezbollah has not announced any attacks on Israeli forces since Saturday.
The lull in fighting in Lebanon is the longest since the start of the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2.
Kim and Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Abby Sewell in Beirut, David Rising in Bangkok, Fatima Hussein in Washington, Mae Anderson in New York, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie Liedman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this story.
