Vance Hails 'Good Foundation' For Iran Deal After Direct Talks
Israeli leaders have expressed deep misgivings over the deal signed last week and have insisted that their troops will continue to occupy southern Lebanon and are free to respond to any threats there
Burgenstock, Switzerland: US Vice President J.D. Vance declared on Monday that a “very good foundation” had been laid for negotiations towards a final deal with Iran, after a marathon session of direct talks at a mountain-top resort Switzerland.
Tehran has agreed for inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog to return to the country, Vance said.
The US said on Monday it is temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow the Islamic Republic to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products through August 21.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent cited Tehran's commitment in ongoing negotiations to “free and open transit” in the Strait of Hormuz and permission for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to enter their country as a reason for pausing the sanctions.
“We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal,” Vance told reporters at Switzerland's luxury Burgenstock resort, adding that “the final deal is the house... We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people”.
The negotiators aim to tackle some of the most intractable issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades, including Tehran's nuclear programme, including its stockpile of enriched uranium and its right to enrich more.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that “a very brief discussion took place regarding the nuclear issue, but there was no discussion of details” and that nuclear talks had not begun.
Israeli leaders have expressed deep misgivings over the deal signed last week and have insisted that their troops will continue to occupy southern Lebanon and are free to respond to any threats there.
Tehran and Washington, meanwhile, have set up communication lines to end the fighting in Lebanon and to keep the vital Strait of Hormuz open, mediators said.
It is also set to get some form of sanctions relief from Washington, with some assets unfrozen.
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the negotiators reached agreement on a “roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days”, with technical talks to continue for the rest of the week at the Swiss resort.
“Encouraging progress has been made including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks,” they said, detailing a contact channel set up to “avoid incidents and miscommunication” in the Strait of Hormuz.
A “de-confliction cell”, between the parties and the Lebanese authorities has also been agreed to prevent fighting from erupting again, they said.
