US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that negotiations with Iran at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland had made significant progress, adding that the parties had laid a "very good foundation" for reaching a final agreement.
"Yesterday was a very, very good day. We made a lot of good progress," Vance told reporters after talks involving US and Iranian officials, alongside mediators from Qatar and Pakistan.
He said the discussions achieved several key objectives, including establishing mechanisms to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and a deconfliction mechanism between Israel and Lebanon. The arrangement is intended to ensure that "when things happen, the sides are actually talking to one another," and to prevent tensions from spiraling into a broader regional escalation, he said.
Vance also announced what he described as a major breakthrough in the nuclear file.
"The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspectors back into their country. That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran," he said.
The vice president said the US, Iranian, Qatari, and Pakistani negotiators had also agreed on a framework for continued engagement.
"Our teams, working with the Iranians, the Qataris, and the Pakistanis, made great progress yesterday," he said.
"They will continue to work at the technical level with the teams here in Burgenstock. Those technical negotiations are going to continue over the weeks and days to come."
Vance said the talks had established a structure that would allow technical discussions to proceed under political oversight as negotiators work toward a comprehensive agreement.
"We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal," he said. "The final deal is the house. We set the foundation. We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation."
Vance dismissed concerns that the talks had been derailed, saying negotiations continued "well past 1 in the morning" despite reports that Iran might leave the talks.
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