OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Monday peace talks with Iran created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began at the end of February.
“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters. “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.”
Vance's comments came after he and Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad
Bagher Qalibaf on Monday wrapped up a lengthy round of initial talks aimed at solidifying a permanent end to the war between the countries.
The vice president also suggested that the U.S. administration could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of U.S. soy, corn and wheat.
The mediation effort in Switzerland, which started Sunday and stretched into the early hours of Monday, had rocky moments. But the talks also led to some agreements between the two sides.
In a joint statement, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said that while the high-level engagement had ended, technical negotiations would continue in Switzerland this week.
Vance was expected to make remarks from the resort at 1 p.m. local time, his office said.
The mediators hailed what they called “encouraging progress” made during the talks. A senior U.S. diplomat 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.
Yet the talks between the United States and Iran were jolted by blistering statements from U.S. President Donald Trump, who, from thousands of miles away from the Swiss negotiating venue at a mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne, was firing off comments that offended the Iranians.
Iranian state media said talks had paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President," 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 the condition of anonymity.
Iranian state television reported Monday that the Iranian delegation had left the summit site to head to the airport in Zurich to fly back to Tehran.
Trump didn't attend what was dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit," but his presence certainly loomed large.
Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had vowed to “never back down from the right to enrich uranium,” according to state media.
Trump on Sunday told Fox News in a phone interview that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and also threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the news channel's correspondents.
Trump also continued to issue warnings against Iran on social media, posting 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!!!”
It’s unclear when Vance will depart Switzerland. Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling many of the technical details on behalf of the U.S. delegation.
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.
The senior U.S. 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 Saturday in response to continued fighting in Lebanon. U.S. Central Command has disputed that Iran closed the strait again.
The interim deal to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran, also sets a 60-day period for negotiators to settle the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that it wants to use it for military purposes, a claim Iran denies. The fate of frozen Iranian assets, among other thorny issues, are also on the agenda.
Though the talks will encompass a vast array of complex matters, Iran has insisted on first addressing the fighting in Lebanon.
Saturday’s 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 morning. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal.
There was cautious calm Monday in Lebanon, with no Israeli strikes reported overnight after a quiet Sunday. Hezbollah likewise 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.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Abby Sewell in Beirut, David Rising in Bangkok and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this story.
