US-Iran talks make ‘encouraging progress’ but tension remains

BUERGENSTOCK, Switzerland/DUBAI - US and Iranian officials made “encouraging progress” at a first round of talks in Switzerland that ended early on June 22, mediators said, although tension persisted over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the parties had agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal on ending their war in 60 days, despite a tense start as Tehran again shut the strait and US President Donald Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran.

They said the two sides had agreed to a mechanism to end fighting between US ally Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the strait, a vital global supply route for oil and liquefied natural gas.

Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, the joint statement said.

In a post on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.

Oil prices rose sharply when Tehran started blockading the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, but, after the US and Iran signed an interim deal last week, they dropped to levels unseen since the war began on Feb 28 with joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Oil prices fell further after June 22’s joint statement, with worries about a supply shortage in global markets easing.

Global benchmark Brent crude was trading just below US$80 per barrel at 0815 GMT.

Separate accounts of talks

US Vice-President J.D. Vance began talks with Iranian officials on June 21 under the terms of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.

The discussions continued until the early hours of June 22.

Before the talks officially began on June 21, Fox News reported that Trump had said he told Iranian officials “you won’t have a country” if they tried to close the strait again.

Trump also reiterated an earlier threat that the US would take over the waterway and possibly charge a toll of its own, Fox News said.

US and Iranian sources provided separate accounts of the discussions in Switzerland.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, said that after Trump’s threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were held, though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators.

According to Tasnim’s source, Iranians said that the start of negotiations on nuclear matters required the delivery of other parts of the MOU, including the release of frozen assets and US waivers authorising Iranian oil exports.

“The Iranians never left and are still here meeting and negotiating deep into the night,” a US diplomat involved in the talks told Reuters. “We’ve talked about the Strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues, and details of implementing the MOU, among other topics.”

The agreement called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued strikes as Hezbollah fires at Israeli targets.

Iran says the US has not met a commitment to halt the war in Lebanon.

It said at the weekend it had stopped maritime traffic through the strait and that June 21’s talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.

At the talks where US and Iranian officials met in the presence of mediators, Vance played down the impact of violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there.

“These things are always a little bit messy,” he said.

Vance told reporters Trump had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran”.

A US diplomat late June 21 said discussions included “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open”.

As the US lifted its maritime blockade of Iran, a second container ship docked at Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas on June 22 and began loading its cargo, the director-general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organisation said.

Iran cites Lebanon as reason to close Strait

Despite the announcement of a new ceasefire in Lebanon on June 19, there has been scant sign of an end to fighting there.

Iran said on June 20 that as a result, it had again shut the strait.

Five vessels passed through the strait on June 21, a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.

The data may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.

June 21 appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon for some time, with no reports of major violence by nightfall.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on June 22 Israel was not opposed to a diplomatic end to the Iran war, but any agreement must ensure Tehran cannot use funds it receives as part of the deal for military purposes or to support regional proxies. REUTERS