JD Vance says Iran talks in Switzerland lay groundwork for final deal

Obburgen,UPDATED: Jun 22, 2026 19:32 IST

US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland had created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” as both sides work towards a permanent end to the war that the US and Israel began in late February.

The mediation effort, which began on Sunday and continued into early Monday, had difficult moments but also produced some agreements, mediators said. Iran, meanwhile, reported “major progress” on ending the fighting in Lebanon and said that would be the first real test of the negotiations.

Speaking to reporters after initial talks with Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Vance said, “The final deal is the house. We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”

US President Donald Trump did not attend what was described as the “Lake Lucerne Summit”, but his remarks from afar affected the talks. Iranian state media said the discussions had paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the US President”, though the negotiations later resumed. Vance rejected suggestions that Trump’s threats had disrupted the process. “No, they didn’t throw a wrench in the system,” he said. “Yes, they did threaten to walk out, or at least there were social media threats that they would walk out. But we were negotiating well past one in the morning yesterday, so they didn’t walk out.”

Vance also said the US could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of US soy, corn and wheat. He said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of the lead US negotiators, came up with the idea along with officials from Qatar. According to Vance, Qatar would approve the process, and Iranian funds made available as sanctions are lifted would be used to buy American goods “for the benefit of the Iranian people”. Iran, which has long sought access to billions of dollars in frozen assets, has not commented on the proposal.

In a joint statement, mediators Pakistan and Qatar described the outcome as “encouraging progress”. The interim deal, signed last week by the leaders of the US and Iran, gives negotiators 60 days to address issues including the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim Iran denies. Vance and other US officials said progress had been made on several fronts, including setting up “mechanisms” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and to ensure that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon continues. As he returned to Washington, Vance said the technical talks would now be crucial. “We wanted to set up a structure for that so that you could have proper political oversight, but obviously, as much as this place is very beautiful, I can’t stay here for the next 60 days,” he said. US envoys Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling much of the technical work. Markets also reacted to the shifts in Trump’s Iran strategy, with trading mixed early Monday and oil prices edging lower on fresh optimism over the negotiations.

Trump had, over the weekend, signalled his irritation over Iran’s public statements on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran’s military said it had closed on Saturday in response to continued fighting in Lebanon. US Central Command has disputed that Iran closed the strait again. Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said he would “never back down from the right to enrich uranium”, according to state media. Trump later told Fox News in a phone interview that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the channel’s correspondents. He also posted on social media during the talks: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Vance said Iran should have expected that response. “What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can’t expect the President of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that mediators had delivered “major progress to end the Lebanon War”, but said the first “real test” would be whether the mechanism succeeds in stopping the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran has insisted on addressing the fighting in Lebanon first, although neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the US-Iran deal. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to be holding, and Israel’s military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the Israel-Lebanon border on Monday. There were no Israeli strikes reported overnight, and Hezbollah has not announced any attacks on Israeli forces since Saturday. The lull is the longest since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2.

The talks in Switzerland have now moved from high-level political meetings to technical negotiations, with both sides pointing to progress but also to major tests ahead. As Vance put it, a foundation has been laid, while Iran says the situation in Lebanon will show whether the process can hold.

With PTI Inputs

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