‘The final deal is the house’: Vance says Switzerland’s talks with Iran have created a ‘good foundation’ for ending the war | Today’s news
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that peace talks with Iran have laid a “good foundation” for reaching a final deal aimed at ending the war that began in late February, the AP reported.
He simply described the talks as a strong starting point for a possible deal, although no final deal has yet been reached.
“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters. “We built a foundation. We didn’t build a house, but we laid a successful foundation to get us to a good place for the American people.”
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
The main objective of the US-Iranian talks in Switzerland was to create a solid foundation for a final agreement aimed at ending the war between the two nations.
The Iranian delegation briefly left the meeting due to the publication of insults from US President Trump that offended Iranians.
The US planned to potentially release frozen Iranian funds to allow purchases of US agricultural goods such as soybeans, corn and wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.
A direct line of communication has been established between the parties to prevent incidents and ensure the safe passage of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar reported encouraging progress and announced that a plan had been set to reach a final agreement within 60 days.
Read also | US-Iran war live: Iran negotiators return home after Swiss talks
JD Vance spoke after completing an expanded round of opening talks Monday with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, aimed at paving the way for a permanent end to the ongoing war between the two nations.
The mediation process, which took place in Switzerland, began on Sunday and continued into the early hours of Monday. Although the discussions were tense at times, they nevertheless produced some points of agreement between the two sides.
Watch the video here:
The vice president also said the US administration may consider releasing frozen Iranian funds to allow purchases of US agricultural goods such as soybeans, corn and wheat.
He added that Jared Kushner, the top US negotiator, drafted the proposal in coordination with Qatari officials.
Vance said Qatar would agree to the process, but the Iranian money that would be available after the sanctions were lifted “will actually go to buy American soybeans, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Read also | ‘They’re criminals’: Trump slams NYT over Iran war coverage
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said in a joint statement that although the high-level talks had ended, lower-level technical talks would continue throughout the week in Switzerland.
JD Vance was scheduled to speak to the media from the resort at 1 p.m. local time, according to his office.
Mediators praised what they called “encouraging progress” made during the talks. A senior US diplomat claimed progress had been made on many fronts, including the creation of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy supplies, remains open and that a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon is in place, according to the AP.
However, talks between the United States and Iran were rocked by stormy statements by Trump, who fired comments insulting the Iranians from a Swiss negotiating venue thousands of kilometers away in a mountain resort near Lake Lucerne.
Iranian state media said the talks had stalled after “the publication of an insulting message by the US president,” according to Iranian state media.
A senior US diplomat said that despite earlier uncertainty, the Iranian delegation ultimately remained in place and the talks continued. The official — who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly — told reporters on condition of anonymity.
However, Iranian state television said the delegation left the summit site on Monday and headed to Zurich airport to return to Tehran.
Trump didn’t attend what was dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit,” but his presence was certainly large.
Before the meeting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to “never back down from the right to enrich uranium,” according to state media.
Trump told Fox News in a phone interview Sunday that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and also threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the news channel’s correspondents.
Read also | How Trump’s Iran MOU Could Hurt Vance’s White House Leadership
Trump also continued to issue warnings about Iran on social media as negotiators worked, posting: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXY in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t we will hit Iran very hard again, just like last week, only harder!!!”
It remains uncertain when JD Vance will leave Switzerland. Meanwhile, US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are overseeing much of the detailed technical work on behalf of the US delegation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Pakistani and Qatari mediators had made “significant progress towards ending the war in Lebanon”. But he added that the first “real test” of the negotiations would be whether the mechanism succeeded in stopping the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
