The China Mail - Vance hails 'good foundation' for Iran deal after direct talks

Tehran has agreed for inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog to return to the country, Vance said, a year after Iran suspended some cooperation and blocked inspectors from key nuclear sites bombed by the US and Israel in 2025's 12-day war.

Last week, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding laying the groundwork for the negotiations, after nearly 40 days of fighting that was followed by weeks of an inconclusive and oft-breached ceasefire.

Bern said conditions had been set for technical talks to immediately follow in Switzerland, with the two sides at the beginning of a 60-day period to secure a long-term settlement.

"We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal," Vance told reporters at Switzerland's luxury Burgenstock resort, adding that "the final deal is the house... We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people".

The negotiators aim to tackle some of the most intractable issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades, including Tehran's nuclear programme, including its stockpile of enriched uranium and its right to enrich more.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday 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.

Vance, meanwhile, said Tehran had agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors "back to their country", calling it "a major milestone... and the first step in permanently denuclearising" Iran.

- 'Roadmap' -

In the weeks and days before the US-Iran talks, the war in Lebanon between Israel and Iran's close ally Hezbollah has threatened to collapse the ceasefire, though the country has been relatively calm since Sunday.

Israeli leaders have expressed deep misgivings over the deal signed last week and have insisted that their troops will continue to occupy southern Lebanon and are free to respond to any threats there.

Tehran and Washington, meanwhile, have set up communication lines to end the fighting in Lebanon and to keep the vital Strait of Hormuz open, mediators said.

Iran closed the strait, through which much of the world's oil and gas travels in peacetime, early in the war, sending economic shockwaves across the globe.

Before the conflict began, there was free international passage through the strait, but Tehran appears keen to monetise the waterway as part of any deal.

It is also set to get some form of sanctions relief from Washington, with some assets unfrozen.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the negotiators reached agreement on a "roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days", with technical talks to continue for the rest of the week at the Swiss resort.

"Encouraging progress has been made including the creation of a mechanism for further technical talks," they said, detailing a contact channel set up to "avoid incidents and miscommunication" in the Strait of Hormuz.

A "de-confliction cell", between the parties and the Lebanese authorities has also been agreed to prevent fighting from erupting again, they said.

"Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a social media post after the high-level talks in Switzerland.

"Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran. 1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell," he wrote.

- Proxies -

The official optimism came after a shaky start to the negotiations, with the Islamic Republic's delegation walking out in response to US President Donald Trump's threats to strike Iran over its support for Hezbollah on Sunday.

By Monday morning, there had been no reports of Israeli strikes or continued fighting, 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 from rebuilding its strength.

The overall death toll from the fighting in Lebanon has now surpassed 4,100, the health ministry said.

Lebanon aside, there has been no indication that Iran's support for armed groups across the region, which has long drawn the ire of the US and Israel, will be addressed in the negotiations.

US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, had hailed the talks in Switzerland as historic.

Flanked by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff, Vance asked: "Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently?

H.Au--ThChM