US Vice President JD Vance says that progress has been made in talks with Iran, with Tehran agreeing to allow nuclear inspectors in the country and establish mechanisms to handle its frozen assets.
Mr Vance and US officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open and that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon holds.
Conversations over nuclear inspections in Iran could start as soon as this week, he said after talks in Switzerland on Monday..
“The final deal is the house,” Mr Vance told reporters after initial talks with Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
“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.”
Iran noted “major progress” to end the fighting in Lebanon and called that the first real test of the negotiations.
The mediation effort in Switzerland, which started Sunday and stretched into early Monday, had rocky moments, but also led to some agreements, mediators said.
Vance floats unfreezing Iranian assets to purchase US goods
The vice president suggested that the US could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of US soy, corn and wheat.
He said Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump and one of the lead US negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.
Mr Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, and Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Iran, which has pressed for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, has not spoken to the idea of using the funds to purchase American products.
The assets have been made inaccessible over years of sanctions, banking restrictions and legal disputes imposed by the US and international community on the Islamic Republic.
High-level talks have ended but technical talks continue
In a joint statement, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said that while the high-level engagement had ended, technical negotiations would continue in Switzerland.
The mediators hailed “encouraging progress.”
The interim deal to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the US and Iran, sets a 60-day period for negotiators on issues including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that it wants to use it for military purposes, a claim Iran denies.
While Mr Vance was returning to Washington, Mr Vance said the technical talks are critical.
“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,” Vance told reporters.
US envoys Mr Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling many of the technical details.
AP/Reuters
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