They also agreed on a mechanism to end fighting in Lebanon between U.S. ally Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah, and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the strait, a vital global oil supply route. Sunday’s meeting followed an interim deal signed last week and stretched into the early hours of Monday, despite Tehran again shutting the waterway on Saturday and U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks on Iran. “The discussions were held in a positive and constructive atmosphere and yielded encouraging progress,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X, adding that the first round of talks had “concluded successfully”. Vice President JD Vance, who led Washington’s delegation, told reporters Trump had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran” and said progress had been made towards ending hostilities in Lebanon.
“These things are always a little bit messy,” he said.
The main Iranian negotiating team, including senior diplomat Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, left Switzerland for Tehran, Iranian student news agency ISNA reported, but technical talks were due to continue for the rest of this week. In a post on social media, 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. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that mediators delivered “major progress to end the Lebanon War.” But he said the first “real test” of negotiations would be whether the mechanism succeeds in halting the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran has insisted on first addressing the fighting in Lebanon. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal. A 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. Cautious calm continued Monday in Lebanon, with no Israeli strikes reported overnight. Hezbollah has not announced any attacks on Israeli forces since Saturday. The lull in fighting in Lebanon is the longest since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2. “This region has been a basket case for a very long time,” Vance said.