Iran talks in Switzerland lay good foundation for deal, Vance says

“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters. “We laid the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we have laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”

Vance’s comments came after he and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, on Monday concluded a long round of initial talks aimed at cementing a permanent end to the war between the countries.

The mediation effort in Switzerland began on Sunday and lasted until early Monday morning and had difficult times. But it also led to some agreements between both sides.

The vice president also suggested that the United States government could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of US soybeans, corn and wheat.

He said Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a top U.S. negotiator, came up with the idea with Qatari officials.

Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, but that Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted “would actually go to buy American soybeans, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

In a joint statement, Pakistan and Qatar indicated that although the high-level engagement had concluded, Technical negotiations would continue in Switzerland this week.

The mediators, Qatar and Pakistan, celebrated what they described of “encouraging progress” achieved during the talks, in which Iran and the United States agreed to create a “deconfliction cell” to address the fighting in Lebanon.

A senior US diplomat said there was progress on multiple fronts, including creating “mechanisms” to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global energy shipments, stay open and that a ceasefire be maintained in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants, backed by Iran, in southern Lebanon.

However, the US-Iran talks, attended by Qatari and Pakistani officials, were rocked by inflammatory statements by US President Donald Trump, who, thousands of miles from the negotiating headquarters in Switzerland, at a resort on a mountain slope near Lake Lucerne, He made comments that offended Iranians.

Iranian state media reported that talks had been paused following the “publication of an insulting message by the president of the United States,” according to Iranian state media.

Ultimately, the Iranians remained on site and negotiations continued, according to the senior U.S. diplomat, who was not authorized to comment publicly and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Iranian state television reported on Monday that the Iranian delegation had left the summit site to head to Zurich airport and fly back to Tehran.

Trump did not attend what was dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit,” but his presence was certainly felt.

Before the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had promised “never back down from the right to enrich uranium”according to state media.

Trump told Fox News in a phone interview on Sunday that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and also threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the channel’s correspondents.

Trump also continued to issue warnings against Iran on social media, posting as negotiators worked: “Iran must immediately stop its well-paid MINIONS in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media. “If they don’t, we will hit Iran very hard again, like we did last week, only harder!!!”

It is unclear when Vance will depart Switzerland. Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling much of the technical details on behalf of the US delegation.

Araghchi wrote in X that Pakistani and Qatari mediators made “great progress toward ending the war in Lebanon.” He added that the first “real test” of the negotiations would be whether the mechanism managed to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The senior US diplomat indicated that among the issues discussed was communication from Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian military said it closed on Saturday in response to continued fighting in Lebanon. The US Central Command has questioned whether Iran has closed the strait again.

The interim agreement to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the United States and Iran, establishes a period of 60 days for negotiators to define the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, amid concerns it wants to use it for military purposes, a claim Iran denies. The fate of frozen Iranian assets, among other thorny issues, is also on the agenda.

Although the talks will cover a wide range of complex issues, Iran wants to focus on addressing Lebanon fighting first.

He cease-fire resumed in Lebanon on Saturday appeared to hold, and Israel’s military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the Israel-Lebanon border on Monday morning. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the US-Iran deal.

On Monday there was a prudent calm in Lebanon, with no Israeli attacks reported overnight after a day of calm on Sunday. Hezbollah has also not announced attacks against Israeli forces since Saturday.

The pause in the fighting in Lebanon is the longest since the outbreak of the most recent war between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2.