US and Iran conclude high-level talks in Switzerland, mediators say

World

A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to a road map toward a final deal within 60 days.

22 Jun 2026 10:37AM

(Updated: 22 Jun 2026 11:08AM)

BUERGENSTOCK, Switzerland: The first round of talks between high-ranking US and Iranian officials in Switzerland ended on Monday (Jun 22), mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran's announcement it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and US President Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.

A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to a road map toward a final deal within 60 days.

Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, according to the statement, which was released by the Qatari foreign ministry.

The parties agreed to a mechanism to end the fighting in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the contested strait, the statement said.

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 tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.

The discussions continued until the early hours of Monday.

In a post on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country 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 had no immediate comment when asked if high-level talks had wrapped for now.

Just before talks officially began on Sunday, Fox News reported that Trump said he told Iranian officials "you won't have a country" if they tried to close the strait again.

Trump also reiterated an earlier threat that the US would take over the waterway and possibly charge a toll of its own, Fox News said.

Trump said he agreed to last week's memorandum of understanding to avert a global economic depression from high oil prices caused by the strait's closure.

Oil prices had tumbled over the past week to levels unseen since the war started on Feb 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran. After the joint statement, Brent crude futures fell further, dropping more than US$1 to US$79.44 a barrel.

Key points from the first round of Iran-US talks

Road map to final deal agreed

The High Level Committee set up by Tehran and Washington to oversee the talks has "agreed upon a road map towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks", according to the statement.

"Technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues."

Lebanon "de-confliction cell"

The United States and Iran "agreed on the creation of a de-confliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon", the joint statement read.

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war in early March when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

Fighting in Lebanon in recent days has threatened to derail the peace deal.

Iran's Araghchi wrote in an X post on Monday that the Lebanon de-confliction cell will be the "1st real test".

Hormuz "communication line"

Tehran and Washington have set up a "communication line" to "avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz", according to the statement.

The communication line is applicable for the 60-day period outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed earlier by both sides, in which Iran vowed "best efforts" to ensure safe passage of commercial ships.

Iran said Saturday it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Some assets unfrozen

Araghchi wrote on Monday on X "oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran".

The Pakistan-Qatar joint statement does not mention any unfreezing of Iranian assets.

In the memorandum of understanding, the United States undertakes to "terminate all types of sanctions against" Iran, and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets" of Iran.

The White House did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on Araghchi's statement.

Pakistan, Qatar in key roles

Pakistan and Qatar have gained international prominence as mediators in the Iran-US deal, with the two nations issuing a joint statement to mark the conclusion of the first round of talks.

"The mediating parties will continue to do their utmost to ensure that the negotiations continue to be conducted in a constructive atmosphere with the aim of reaching a final deal," the statement said.

Araghchi in his X post gave credit to "tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation".

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US and Iranian sources provided separate accounts of the discussions in Switzerland.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, said that after Trump's threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were held, though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators.

According to Tasnim's source, Iranians said that the start of negotiations on nuclear matters required the delivery of other parts of the MOU, 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 MOU, among other topics."

The agreement calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for global energy shipments, and ending all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued to launch deadly strikes as Iranian ally Hezbollah fires at Israeli targets.

Iran, arguing that the US had failed to meet its commitment to halt fighting in Lebanon, said on the weekend that it had again stopped maritime traffic through the strait and that Sunday's talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran's nuclear programme.

At the talks in Switzerland, where US and Iranian officials met in the presence of Qatari mediators, Vance played down the impact of violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there.

"These things are always a little bit messy," he said.

Back in the United States, Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran if it did not rein in its allies.

"Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble," Trump wrote on social media, apparently referring to Hezbollah. "If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!"

Even as Trump was threatening Iran, Vance told reporters the US president had "asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran".

A US diplomat late on Sunday said 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 TO CLOSE STRAIT

Despite the announcement of a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday, there has been scant sign of an end to fighting there. Iran said on Saturday that as a result, it had again shut the strait, whose closure for nearly four months caused the biggest disruption of global energy supplies in history.

Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. The data may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.

Sunday appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon for some time, with no reports of major violence by nightfall, after two days of heavy Israeli strikes and fire from Hezbollah fighters on Israeli positions.

More than 1 million people have fled their homes in Lebanon since Israel invaded in March to pursue Hezbollah fighters who fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon on Sunday saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to their homes. Some stood beside cars backed up on the highway and waved Hezbollah flags.

Source: Reuters/dy