BURGENSTOCK, Jun 21: The United States and Iran are holding talks in Switzerland on Sunday after signing a preliminary agreement to end their war, with the conflict in Lebanon threatening to derail the deal.
The negotiations to end a war that sowed chaos across the Middle East and rattled the global economy are meant to trigger a 60-day period to settle broader issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades, from Iran's nuclear programme to crippling sanctions.
American and Iranian representatives gathered alongside delegations from mediators Pakistan and Qatar at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock perched high above Lake Lucerne, with Doha confirming in the afternoon that the four-way talks had begun.
Yet the talks to end the months-long conflict are taking place against the backdrop of Iran closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israel's attacks on Lebanon, where its war with Hezbollah has flared despite a new ceasefire.
"It is not possible to enter the negotiation phase for a final agreement," foreign ministry spokesman EsmaeilBaqaei wrote on X, unless there was an end to the war in Lebanon.
Washington and Tehran's memorandum of understanding signed earlier in June extended the truce in the war that began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. It included a provision to end fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
But there have been repeated clashes in Lebanon since, which prompted Iran to say it would again shutter the crucial oil and gas trade route, having opened it as part of the deal. By Sunday afternoon, however, there had been no reports of Israeli strikes or continued fighting in Lebanon since the day before.
Israel insisted on Sunday, though, that its troops would stay inside what it calls a "security zone" in southern Lebanon and respond to any threats, despite the US-Iran deal.
There remained scepticism from Tehran, however, with Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, posting on X that "the enemy has shown itself to be a promise-breaker".
Speaking on Sunday, Iranian President MasoudPezeshkian said Tehran would not relinquish its right to enrich uranium, though he repeated Iran's denial that it wants nuclear weapons.
Baqaei, meanwhile, said the unfreezing of Iranian assets and "issuing the necessary licences for the sale of Iranian oil will also be on the agenda".
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland handling "some of the technical elements" and had reported that "things are going well", Vance told Fox News on Saturday.
The latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by the Tehran-backed militant group attacking Israel in support of Iran in the wider war, has repeatedly threatened to derail peace efforts.
On Friday, planned US-Iranian talks were postponed after Israel launched deadly strikes in Lebanon following the deaths of four of its soldiers in combat there.
Washington announced a renewed ceasefire in the country later the same day, but Israeli troops again clashed with Hezbollah fighters the following day, trading accusations of violating the truce.
Citing a US "breach of contract" and "the Zionist regime's continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon", Iran's central military command said "the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic".
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out "under the cover of the ceasefire... an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills" in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with authorities counting more than 30 dead.
The overall death toll from the fighting in Lebanon has now surpassed 4,000, the health ministry said. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei added that Tehran would also pursue the issue of its frozen and inaccessible funds during the talks.
"The issue of making available Iran's frozen or restricted assets, as well as the discussion related to issuing the necessary licenses for the sale of Iranian oil, will also be on the agenda," he said from Switzerland.
Iran has not officially disclosed the value of its frozen assets, though media reports have estimated them at more than $100 billion, largely frozen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah. "AFP
