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U.S. Vice President JD Vance, along with mediators, have said major progress has been made towards a peace deal between Iran and the United States.
Iran’s top negotiator left peace talks in Switzerland on Monday after an 18-hour marathon session with the U.S.
Mediating parties from Pakistan and Qatar said conditions were set for technical talks to immediately follow, with both sides at the beginning of a 60-day period to settle a long-term deal.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries last week, laying out the framework for the negotiations.
Issues that still need to be tackled include Iran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium.
Here’s the latest on the Iran war on Monday:
Iran said its cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectors would continue only “under the current procedures,” seemingly pushing back after Vice President Vance said Tehran agreed to let IAEA inspectors back into the country.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that Tehran’s interaction with IAEA would proceed “in accordance with Iran’s obligations under safeguard agreements” and “in line with resolutions passed by Parliament and decisions of the Supreme National Security Council.”
A law passed by Iranian parliament last summer said cooperation with the IAEA and inspections are suspended, CNN reported.
On Sunday, Vance said Iran had agreed to admit IAEA inspectors into the country.
IRNA reported Tehran did not negotiate the nuclear issue during 18 hours of discussions and did not accept any new obligations.
U.S. Central Command said the Strait of Hormuz remains open despite Iran claiming otherwise.
CENTCOM spokesman Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said Iran doesn’t control the Strait of Hormuz.
“Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” said Hawkins, per CBS News.
According to Hawkins, there hasn’t been a significant reduction or repositioning of military assets in the region, noting commanders are always assessing the situation.
Iran has said all commercial ships have to coordinate with authorities while trekking through the strait and that it’s not charging shippers fees during the 60-day negotiation period as noted in the memorandum of understanding signed last week.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has increased in the last week, but it’s a far cry from the average 135 ships daily seen before the Iran war started on Feb. 28.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as necessary.”
Israeli forces currently occupy land that extends about 9.6 kilometres into the Lebanese territory from the Israeli border.
“My directive and that of the Minister of Defence to the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat to them or to the residents of the north [of Israel]. The IDF has no restrictions in this regard,” Netanyahu said, per CBS News.
“I stand firm that we will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect the residents of the north and all citizens of the country,” said Netanyahu.
Iran has said repeatedly that, under the peace agreement with the U.S., Israeli forces must withdraw from Lebanon.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that major progress has been made by the U.S. and is working to finalize a deal with Iran.
“Yesterday was a very, very good day. We made a lot of good progress. We did exactly what we wanted to do… the Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country,” said Vance, per Fox News.
“That is a major milestone for the American people. And the first step in permanently denuclearizing- permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.”
Vance also pushed back on the “misreporting” information about Iranian assets being unfrozen, stating if any of Tehran’s funding is freed up, it will go to help the American economy and make farmers richer.
“We wanted to make sure that we set up a process where if — if we ever unfreeze Iranian assets, we can ensure that those — that that money, that Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism,” said Vance.
“If there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen, then we have approval over that process … and then the money would actually go to buy American soy, American corn, and American wheat.” “If Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and feed the Iranian people. That’s a very, very good and very classic Trump deal.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of new attacks on Iran if it did not “immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble.”
Iran hit back with a warning of its own, AFP reported.
“They would do better to be careful with their statements; our armed forces are ready to respond to them in a different manner. No matter what they say, we are the ones who act,” said Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
There had been no reports of Israeli strikes or continued fighting on Monday morning, with some residents of southern Lebanon cautiously trickling back to their homes.
Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir visited troops in south Lebanon on Sunday, where he said Hezbollah was in a “very difficult position” and the army was ready to prevent it rebuilding.
The overall death toll from the fighting in Lebanon has now surpassed 4,100, the health ministry said, per AFP.
Iran’s top negotiators have left Switzerland after an 18-hour session of intense talks, the country’s state media reported.
The team, led by Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Boord, and nuclear negotiator Ali Bakri, Al Jazeera reported.
Negotiations still have to tackle some issues, including Iran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that “a very brief discussion took place regarding the nuclear issue, but there was no discussion of details” and that nuclear talks had not begun, per AFP.
ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported the technical team – led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi – remains in Switzerland and will continue technical negotiations on the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
The U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to start a “de-confliction cell” webanon that will be facilitated by Qatar and Pakistan to ensure the end of military operations in Lebanon, mediators stated after peace talks in Switzerland ended, CNN reported.
“The parties agreed on the creation of a de-confliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon as per the MoU,” the mediators stated in a joint statement.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Aragchi later said the “first real test” will be the effectiveness of that effort.
The fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has continued in Lebanon despite a renewal of a ceasefire agreement, which became an obstacle to Iran and U.S. reaching a peace deal.
Since March 2, the conflict in Lebanon has killed more than 4,0000 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
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