US-Iran talks in Switzerland target interim deal, nuclear programme, and Strait of Hormuz

US Vice President JD Vance said talks with Iran offered a chance to reset ties. The meeting aimed to build the interim deal signed last week. That deal sought to end the war in Iran. Negotiators also discussed Iran’s nuclear programme and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Vance met Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The talks took place at a Swiss resort near Lake Lucerne. Pakistan and Qatar acted as mediators in the room. Iranian state media said the direct session lasted about 80 minutes.

US Iran talks and Strait of Hormuz focus

The US wanted Iran tied to nuclear negotiations amid fears of military use. Iran denied such aims. Vance also pushed for a pledge to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. About a fifth of global traded oil moves through it. US and Iranian teams also held private discussions with Pakistani and Qatari officials.

US Central Command disputed Iran’s claim that it closed the strait again. The command said US forces kept monitoring to support continued traffic. Vance said millions of barrels of oil moved through recently. The interim agreement allowed commercial vessels to pass for 60 days without charge.

Iran’s caution reflected past talks on the nuclear issue. Those talks were twice disrupted by major strikes in the last year. "The implementation of any document is more important than its signing,\" Baghaei said Sunday. Iran’s president also repeated Iran’s position on uranium enrichment rights.

\"What is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,\" Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday, according to Iran’s state media.

Vance opened the session with questions about future cooperation. \"The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?\" Vance said as the talks, dubbed the Lake Lucerne Summit, got underway. Vance also asked if the region could change, or return to old patterns.

US Iran talks tested by Lebanon conflict and Hezbollah

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran wanted talks to focus on Israel’s strikes in Lebanon. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to hold. Still, clashes between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah threatened progress. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed the US-Iran agreement.

Vance said progress had been made on Lebanon. Minutes later, President Donald Trump issued a warning online about Hezbollah. \"If they dont, well hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!\" Trump wrote. The conflict risked derailing efforts tied to nuclear talks and the strait.

US Iran talks schedule, envoys, and political scrutiny

Vance had planned to arrive at the Burgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday. Travel was delayed after fighting escalated in Lebanon. Iranian officials then cancelled plans to attend. Sunday’s meeting went ahead after the pause. Vance said the stay in Switzerland would be one or two days.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner joined Vance for the talks. Witkoff and Kushner arrived earlier to discuss technical nuclear details. A 60-day sprint began to settle those technical points. The vice president said others would lead much of the detailed work.

Vance’s role drew attention as Vance considered a 2028 presidential campaign. Trump and Vance also faced criticism from Republican hard-liners. Some compared the interim deal to the Obama-era nuclear agreement. Trump and the GOP had argued that earlier deal did not end Iran’s nuclear programme.

US Iran talks, oil markets, and deal terms

The agreement signed by Trump and Pezeshkian let Tehran sell oil freely. It also opened a path to billions in frozen assets. The deal called for Iran to dilute highly enriched uranium. That stockpile was believed buried under sites hit in US strikes last summer.

Trump, in a Fox News telephone interview on Sunday, warned Pezeshkian. \"Hed better shape up, or well take over the rest of the country,\" Fox News quoted Trump as saying. Trump also said on Saturday that US tolls could follow without a deal in 60 days.

The agreement did not rule out future fees by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration tried to calm global markets on oil prices. Americans complained petrol costs rose ahead of peak summer travel. After the deal was announced a week ago, oil futures fell almost 8 per cent.

Markets were expected to track the talks when trading opened Sunday evening. The Lebanon situation still complicated the process. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said forces would stay in southern Lebanon until threats ended. Hezbollah said attacks would not stop unless Israel committed to leaving Lebanon.

With inputs from PTI