JUST-IN: U.S-Iran Talks End First Round With “Encouraging Progress”

First-round talks between the U.S and Iran have concluded with “encouraging progress,” according to mediators, Qatar and Pakistan.

The negotiations, held in Switzerland, aim to reach a final deal within 60 days to end the wider conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In a joint statement early Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said a “High Level Committee” had agreed to “a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days.”

The memorandum of understanding signed last week commits both sides to ending fighting on “all fronts”, including Lebanon, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi said there had been “major progress” towards ending the conflict in Lebanon.

He added that under the MoU, oil and petrochemical exports are waived, the blockade is lifted, some frozen assets are released, and a major reconstruction and development plan for Iran has been launched.

The mediators said a “communication line” has been formed to avoid incidents and miscommunication, with the aim of ensuring safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Both sides also agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” between the U.S, Iran and Lebanon, facilitated by the mediating countries, to end military operations in Lebanon.

Araghchi called this the “first real test”.

Iranian lead negotiators have left Switzerland, where talks began Sunday. Technical discussions between the parties are set to continue.

Iranian media reported that fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon has surged since the MoU was signed, alongside Israeli air strikes that Lebanon’s health ministry says killed dozens, including women and children.

A new Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was declared Friday. On Saturday, Iran announced it had shut the Strait of Hormuz, though tracking data shows vessels have continued to pass through.

Fighting diminished Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary to protect northern Israel.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected any Israeli military presence and said Hezbollah would defend itself.

As talks began in Lucerne, President Trump posted that Iran “must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble” and threatened to “hit Iran very hard again” if they did not.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded: “Don’t they think that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn’t be in this desperate situation today?…

No matter how much they talk, it is we who take action.”

Speaking before the talks at Bürgenstock, U.S lead negotiator Vice-President JD Vance said President Trump had asked negotiators to “turn over a new leaf”.

He added that if Iran’s leadership was willing to give up being a “driver of regional instability” and its “nuclear weapons ambitions for the longer term”, the U.S “is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country”.