Vance says Iran to let international nuclear inspections resume after “good day” of talks

Vice President JD Vance on Monday touted “good progress” in the first direct talks between the U.S. and Iran, and he called the past 24 hours “probably the most peaceful that we’ve seen” in Lebanon since the war began. 

Israel’s battle with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has derailed efforts on several occasions to broker a wider peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, and the memorandum of understanding signed last week calls for a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also reported “good progress” in Sunday’s first round of talks. 

Vance referred to the nexus of the separate but linked U.S.-Iran war and the Israel-Hezbollah fight as a “bit of a chicken-and-egg problem,” suggesting that some of the strikes may have been ordered by a “junior guy who fires a drone that didn’t have approval from the high command.”

Vance said Sunday’s talks had seen Iran and the U.S. establish a new mechanism to avoid such situations. 

“Israel and every other nation in the region has the right to self-defense, but we want to make sure that everybody has that right to self-defense in the background where we’re talking about how to de-escalate these conflicts rather than spiraling out of control,” he said. “Sometimes what will happen is that if the conflict spirals out of control, that’s worse for everybody’s self-defense and worse for everybody’s security. So we’ve actually got the process in place to ensure that escalation doesn’t happen.” 

Iran’s Central Bank said Monday that “significant progress” on the release of Tehran’s frozen financial assets had been made in the first round of negotiations with the U.S. in Switzerland.

The bank’s Governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency: “God willing, in the coming days, access to the resources will gradually be operationalized under certain conditions.”

Cause 11 of the memorandum of understanding says the U.S. will make Iran’s frozen or restricted funds “fully available for use” upon the implementation of the agreement.

The Wall Street Journal reported, and CBS News has also been told, that the U.S. has been working with Qatar on a plan to make billions of dollars of Iran’s frozen assets available to the regime for humanitarian purposes, likely beginning with $6 billion held in Qatar. 

Officials previously confirmed to CBS News that the $6 billion held in Qatar would be some of the first assets released to Iran under an agreement, and those funds are already subject to a U.S. Treasury mechanism set up during the Biden-era to insure that the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes.   

Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Switzerland that although he will be heading back to the U.S., technical talks with Iran will continue “over the weeks and days to come.”

“We laid a very good foundation for a successful, final deal,” Vance said. “The final deal is a 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.”

Vance said “there is still a lot to do,” but he touted “a lot of progress.”

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency back into the country, saying “we have made a lot of great progress on nuclear talks.”

Vance said allowing the nuclear inspectors back in is “probably what we’re most excited about as Americans.” Vance called it a “very, very good day.” 

“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,” Vance said. 

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei earlier downplayed talks about the Iranian nuclear program on Sunday, telling reporters there had been “a very brief discussion” on the topic, “but there was no discussion of details, and it cannot be said that negotiations on the nuclear issue have begun.”

Vance said he expected IAEA inspections — which were carried out for years under the previous JPCOA nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration — to resume as soon as this week. 

Vance said four objectives had been accomplished — allowing the nuclear inspectors, building a mechanism to open the Strait of Hormuz, building a mechanism for “deconfliction for the regional ceasefire” in Lebanon, and stepping up a process for future negotiations.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to speak to reporters in Switzerland after taking part in the first round of talks with Iranian officials.

Overnight, Pakistan and Qatar said in a joint statement that “high level talks” have concluded, but that technical talks will continue through the week.

A  senior U.S. diplomat said on Sunday night that “topics of discussion have included clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open. We have also worked through deconfliction mechanisms and enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon. We’ve had robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal. We plan to continue working through each of these issues and using today’s work as a start point for ongoing technical talks going forward.”

Vance’s news conference will be carried live in the player at the top of this page.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said Monday that the first round of talks with the U.S. in Switzerland lasted 18 hours.

Speaking to Iran’s state broadcaster IRNA, Esmail Baqaei said the talks began at about 9:00 a.m. Sunday and went on until around 3:00 a.m. Monday. 

After the meeting, Iran’s delegation left Switzerland and returned to Tehran.

Further discussions are expected to take place this week, but the format has not been confirmed.

Pakistani and Qatari mediators said Monday morning that Iran and the U.S. had agreed to establish a line of communication and a “de-confliction cell,” following the first round of talks in Switzerland.

In a joint statement released early Monday, mediators said “encouraging progress” had been made during the “positive” Lake Lucerne Summit on Sunday.

According to the mediators, the U.S. and Iran agreed to establish a line of communication between the countries “to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Additionally, a “de-confliction cell” was also established in conjunction with Lebanon’s government “to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon” under the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed last week by President Trump and his Iranian counterpart, the mediators said. 

Continued fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has threatened to derail the U.S.-Iran deal, which calls for an end to all military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hailed the “progress to end Lebanon War,” but said the de-confliction cell would offer the first real test of the agreement between Tehran and Washington.

Oil prices fell Monday on optimism over U.S.-Iran talks, with mediators flagging a “roadmap” to a final agreement.

Traders remained in a buoyant mood after news that the two sides had paused their conflict, which had sent energy costs soaring and stoked inflation.

There were initial jitters following reports that Iran had called off the talks over President Trump’s threat to carry out more strikes if Hezbollah kept attacking Israel, but mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the talks took place in “a positive and constructive atmosphere.”

Both main oil contracts fell in afternoon Asian trade, with international benchmark Brent crude down more than 1% to just under $80 a barrel.

Stock markets were mixed after a broadly positive start.

A top member of Iran’s negotiating team warned American officials to “be careful with their statements” and cautioned that Iran’s armed forces “are ready to respond,” after President Trump threatened to strike Iran if it doesn’t immediately stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X: “Don’t they think to themselves that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn’t have reached the point of despair today? We don’t count on the threats of the Americans.”

The fresh saber rattling could inject new uncertainty into already delicate talks between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland.