JD Vance says ‘great progress’ achieved towards final deal

Vice President JD Vance has hailed “great progress” in negotiations with Iran and says UN nuclear inspectors will return to verify Tehran’s compliance with the preliminary agreement.

Iran’s top negotiators depart Switzerland for Tehran after 18 hours of intensive talks as a team remains to continue technical negotiations on the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar say the US and Iran made “encouraging progress” on the first day of high-level talks and agreed on “a roadmap for a final deal to be reached within 60 days”.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department authorised the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil on Monday (22 June), a move promised under an agreement reached by Washington and Tehran last week.

The general license, announced as the two sides continue talks aimed at reaching a final peace deal, allows the production, delivery and sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian-origin through August 21.

The license says Iranian oil can be imported into the United States under the waiver when necessary to complete its sale or delivery. However, it does not authorise transactions involving North Korea or Cuba, countries heavily sanctioned by the United States.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary as Hezbollah vows to confront any violation of the ceasefire.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has welcomed “substantial progress” made during technical negotiations in Burgenstock, Switzerland.

In a statement, Dar also expressed appreciation for constructive engagement by the United States and Iran toward implementing the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

A team from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry will remain in Burgenstock for the remainder of the week to continue technical-level discussions with the parties, he added.

Talks in Switzerland were “very important” to lay the foundation for future negotiations between the US and Iran, says Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

“Let us remember that the memorandum that’s been signed is to create the right environment and the right framework for the negotiation to take place, and to stop the war and stop the consequences of the war,” he told Al Jazeera in an interview from Switzerland.

The talks will also impact the “security of the region and the global economy, and that’s been achieved”, Sheikh Mohammed said.

“We came up with the whole framework for the technical teams to continue, and we want to make sure that – given the delicacy of that issue – that the process is institutional and well-established and hopefully resilient to any external factors that can affect it,” he added.

Habib Abbasi, director-general of public relations at the president’s office, said the trip would follow up on prior agreements and explore new areas of bilateral trade cooperation.

Abbasi said Pezeshkian would “express appreciation” for Pakistan’s mediation efforts between Iran and the United States, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, says “good and sufficient progress” has been achieved during this round of negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland.

Both sides were able to “consolidate” the Islamabad memorandum of understanding because without that “really there would have been nothing to build on and this could have relapsed into conflict”, Vaez told Al Jazeera.

“So some of the mechanisms, I think, are absolutely essential for moving forward and also having a plan, a timeline, and a set of milestones for how to reach a comprehensive agreement in the next 60 days – as ambitious as that is. But this is the right approach to diplomacy.”