Negotiations between the US and Iran for a comprehensive agreement to end the war are gaining momentum. After the start of the talks at the negotiator level in Switzerland, there will now be further discussions at the working level throughout the week. According to the intermediaries, the talks will continue to take place in the luxury resort of Bürgenstock near Lucerne.
The aim, as provided for in the framework agreement, is to reach a “final agreement” within 60 days, said a joint statement from the mediators Qatar and Pakistan early this morning. Among other things, there will be working groups on Iran’s nuclear program and Western sanctions.
The talks since Sunday have taken place in a “positive and constructive atmosphere”. “Encouraging progress has been made, including the creation of a mechanism for further discussions,” the statement distributed by the mediators on Platform X continued. Even recent threats from US President Donald Trump against Iran, which he published on social media during the talks on Sunday, did not lead to the failure of the consultations.
New conversation channel for opening the Strait of Hormuz
A channel of communication had been set up between the warring parties to avoid misunderstandings or incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, the mediators said. The aim is to ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is an important route for the global economy for trade in fertilizer, oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf states.
In addition, a forum had been created to ensure compliance with the ceasefire in Lebanon, it said. There are repeated mutual attacks by the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia. In their framework agreement last week, Iran and the USA agreed to an end to the fighting in Lebanon.
However, Israel’s government, which is not part of the negotiations between the two warring parties, rejects this. In addition, Israel does not want to withdraw its soldiers from southern Lebanon, which in turn is a thorn in Iran’s side. Mutual attacks in Lebanon brought the framework agreement to the brink of collapse at the end of last week. Eventually the situation calmed down – for the time being.
Iran: “Major progress” on war in Lebanon
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that there had been “great progress” in efforts to end the war in Lebanon. The joint forum to monitor compliance with the ceasefire in Lebanon is the “first real test” of the agreements. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports has been lifted and the first frozen Iranian assets are being released. A major plan for reconstruction in Iran has also been initiated.
Araghtschi’s information could not initially be verified. The US side did not immediately comment overnight on the outcome of the first day of negotiations.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani posted a photo on the X platform early this morning that showed him with US Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. “Live from Lucerne, the work continues,” he wrote. Vance appears to be typing on a laptop in the photo.
Direct discussions between the negotiators
The first direct conversation between the delegations in Switzerland lasted a good hour on Sunday afternoon. The US delegation was led by Vance. He had previously indicated that he expected to travel back to the United States on Monday.
On the Iranian side, in addition to Foreign Minister Araghchi, Parliament President Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf also took part as negotiator.
Trump’s recent threats against Iran
On Sunday afternoon, Trump sent new threats towards Tehran. Iran must immediately prevent its “highly paid proxies” in Lebanon from causing unrest, he wrote on his Truth Social platform with a view to Hezbollah. “If they don’t do that, we will hit Iran very hard again.”
Trump told Fox News that he had sent Iran an urgent warning about the Strait of Hormuz. “If you close them, you won’t have a country anymore,” Trump was quoted as saying by Fox News. “You won’t even be able to go back to your damn country.”
On Saturday, Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was closed again due to the situation in Lebanon. The US military contradicted this account.
However, the fact that Iran also seems interested in a diplomatic solution was shown in the reaction of the Iranian negotiator to the crossfire from Washington. The Americans should be aware that they would not be in their current hopeless situation if such threats were actually effective, Ghalibaf wrote on X. “We do not take these statements seriously, but it would be advisable if they exercised more restraint.” Iranian forces remained ready to respond in other ways. “No matter how much they talk, we are the ones who act,” Ghalibaf wrote.
Trump attacks the New York Times
Trump, meanwhile, was angry about an analysis of the New York Timesaccording to which the war against Iran that he ordered ultimately achieved almost nothing. On his Truth Social platform, he referred, among other things, to the successes in the fight against the Iranian military, the economic situation in Iran and the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is open.
Trump called the newspaper’s reporting “treasonous” and announced his existing lawsuit against the New York Times to expand on these aspects. The newspaper was “CORRUPT,” he claimed.
The newspaper’s analysis argues that Trump is selling the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a success, even though its closure was only triggered by the war he ordered. In addition, although there have been personnel changes in Iran, the Islamic Republic’s power system remains intact and has probably even been strengthened by the war.
The future of Iran’s controversial nuclear program – which Trump cited as a reason for the war – remains unclear, the analysis continues. Iran, in turn, has secured the prospect of sanctions relief and economic aid with the framework agreement. Overall, the USA is now in a worse position than before the war.
The USA and Israel started the Iran war at the end of February. A ceasefire came into force at the beginning of April, but was occasionally broken. Last week, the USA and Iran concluded a framework agreement – with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the war within 60 days.
