BUERGENSTOCK, Switzerland/DUBAI, June 22 — The first round of talks between senior US and Iranian officials in Switzerland concluded this morning, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran's announcement that it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and US President Donald Trump repeating threats to resume attacks on Iran.
A joint statement issued by mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran had agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days.
Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week at the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, according to the statement released by Qatar’s foreign ministry.
The parties also agreed to a mechanism aimed at ending the fighting in Lebanon and established a communications channel to help ensure safe passage for commercial vessels through the contested strait.
US Vice President JD Vance began talks with Iranian officials on Sunday under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a fragile ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days. Discussions continued into the early hours of today.
In a social media post, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.
The White House did not immediately comment when asked whether the high-level talks had concluded.
Shortly before the talks officially began on Sunday, Fox News reported that Trump had warned Iranian officials that “you won't have a country” if they attempted to close the strait again.
Trump also repeated an earlier threat that the US would take control of the waterway and potentially impose a toll on vessels using it, according to the report.
He said he had agreed to last week's memorandum of understanding to avert a global economic depression triggered by soaring oil prices resulting from the closure of the strait.
Oil prices have fallen sharply over the past week to levels not seen since the conflict began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Following the joint statement, Brent crude futures fell further, dropping more than US$1 to US$79.44 per barrel.
Conflicting accounts
US and Iranian sources offered differing accounts of the discussions in Switzerland.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, reported that after Trump’s remarks became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where the talks were being held, although messages continued to be exchanged through Pakistani and Qatari mediators.
According to the source, Iranian officials argued that negotiations on nuclear matters could only begin after other elements of the memorandum of understanding had been implemented, including the release of frozen assets and US waivers authorising Iranian oil exports.
“The Iranians never left and are still here meeting and negotiating deep into the night,” a US diplomat involved in the talks told Reuters.
“We’ve talked about the Strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues and details of implementing the memorandum of understanding, among other topics.”
The agreement calls for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments, and an end to all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued to launch strikes while Iranian-backed Hezbollah fires at Israeli targets.
Iran, arguing that the US had failed to fulfil its commitment to halt the fighting in Lebanon, announced over the weekend that it had again suspended maritime traffic through the strait and that Sunday’s talks would not address substantive issues such as its nuclear programme.
At the talks in Switzerland, attended by US and Iranian officials alongside Qatari mediators, Vance downplayed the impact of continued violence in Lebanon and said progress had been made towards ending the conflict.
“These things are always a little bit messy,” he said.
Back in the United States, Trump warned that military action could resume if Iran failed to restrain its regional allies.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump wrote on social media, referring to Hezbollah.
“If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
Despite Trump’s warning, Vance told reporters that the president had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran”.
A US diplomat said late yesterday that discussions included “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open”.
Iran cites Lebanon as reason for closure
Despite the announcement of a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday, there has been little sign of a complete end to the fighting.
Iran said on Saturday that it had again closed the strait because the ceasefire commitments had not been fulfilled. The previous closure, which lasted nearly four months, caused the largest disruption to global energy supplies in history.
Five vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, down sharply from 26 ships recorded a day earlier, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
The data may not include vessels that switched off their transponders while travelling through the Gulf.
Yesterday appeared to be one of the quietest days in Lebanon in recent weeks, with no reports of major violence by nightfall following two days of heavy Israeli strikes and Hezbollah attacks on Israeli positions.
More than one million people have fled their homes in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive in March against Hezbollah fighters who had fired across the border in support of Tehran.
Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon observed some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to their homes. Some stood beside vehicles backed up on highways and waved Hezbollah flags.
