Qatar and Pakistan Say US-Iran Talks in Switzerland Deliver Roadmap Within 60 Days

The first round of direct US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland ended with mediators Qatar and Pakistan saying there was "encouraging progress" and that the parties agreed to "a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days".

The talks, hosted at the Bürgenstock resort on Lake Lucerne, produced a "communication line" between the US and Iran to coordinate the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a joint statement.

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The memorandum of understanding signed last week opened a 60-day window to negotiate a final deal and stated that during that period the two countries would lift their blockades of the critical waterway without charging passage fees.

The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, alongside U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while the Iranian delegation included chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Mediators also said the negotiations created a "de-confliction cell" between the US, Iran and Lebanon to help end ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there had been "major progress" toward ending the conflict in Lebanon, and he posted that Pakistani and Qatari mediation had delivered "major progress to end Lebanon War".

Araghchi said the first "real test" would be the Lebanon de-confliction cell, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke to senior officials from the US and Qatar about the issue and consolidating a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was declared on Friday, but it also described Israeli air strikes that the health ministry says have killed dozens of Lebanese including women and children.

The BBC said Iran on Saturday announced it had shut the Strait of Hormuz, though tracking data showed vessels continued to pass through it, and it noted that Hezbollah said it would confront any attempt by Israel to "seize territory or expand its occupation".

The BBC further reported that Israeli forces said Hezbollah had built an "underground military fortress" beneath the Ali al-Taher hill area, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the Israeli military would remain in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect northern Israel.

The Guardian reported that Iran agreed to allow UN nuclear inspectors back into the country as part of an agreement in which Washington will lift sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports and reopen the strait of Hormuz, with JD Vance saying so.

Trump wrote on social media: “Everybody is fully aware that Iran will agree to have Major Weapons Inspections in order to ensure “Nuclear Honesty” long into the future.”

The Guardian said Tehran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after strikes on its nuclear facilities and that the outcome of any negotiation would be subject to the supreme national security council.

The Guardian also said technical experts from the two sides and mediators from Qatar and Pakistan were to stay behind at the Doha-owned Lake Lucerne resort to work on detailed implementation, including working parties on Iran’s nuclear programme and the establishment of a high-level political committee to oversee the process intended to seal a comprehensive deal between the two sides in under two months.

The BBC reported that the deal also included a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran’s "reconstruction" and that the US would terminate "all types of sanctions" on it, while it said the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme was still to be negotiated.