• Pakistan, Qatar say agreement reached on a ‘roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days’
• Tehran, Washington agree to establish communication lines on Hormuz
• ‘De-confliction cell’ created to end Lebanon fighting
• Araghchi hails ‘progress’ in talks, says some frozen assets released
• Vance claims ‘unfrozen assets’ can only be used to buy American products
• Trump warns of action if Iran fails to honour deal
• Details of $300 billion reconstruction fund still up in the air
BURGENSTOCK / WASHINGTON: The United States temporarily suspended sanctions on Iranian oil on Monday after Vice President JD Vance said Iran would allow UN nuclear inspectors to return to the country, following talks in Switzerland.
In addition, mediators said that Tehran and Washington have set up communication lines to end the fighting in Lebanon, and to keep the vital Strait of Hormuz open.
The development 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.
Pakistan and Qatar said the negotiators reached agreement on a “roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days”.
A “de-confliction cell” has also been agreed between the parties and the Lebanese authorities to prevent fighting from erupting again, the mediators said.
Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, their joint statement said.
“Encouraging progress has been made,” they said, including a contact channel set up to “avoid incidents and miscommunication” in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited Tehran’s commitment to “free and open transit” in the Strait of Hormuz and permission for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to enter their country as a reason for pausing the sanctions.
The general licence, announced by the Treasury Department, allows the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.
The licence says Iranian oil can be imported into the US when necessary to complete its sale, delivery or offloading. The US has not meaningfully imported Iranian oil since Washington imposed measures after the 1979 revolution.
The move followed a statement from his boss, President Donald Trump, who said that Iran will agree to have weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty” long into the future.
Vance, meanwhile, said Tehran had agreed to invite IAEA inspectors “back to their country”, calling it “a major milestone… and the first step in permanently denuclearising” Iran.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters that “I will do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its agreement with Washington.
“If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” he said.
‘Major progress’
However, the Iranian delegation, which acknowledged “major progress” achieved with the help of mediators Pakistan and Qatar on Monday, said it had not negotiated on its nuclear programme, nor did it accept any new commitments in talks over the weekend.
Iranian foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said “a very brief discussion took place regarding the nuclear issue, but there was no discussion of details” and that nuclear talks had not begun.
“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”.
As part of the deal, Tehran is set to get some form of sanctions relief from Washington, as well as the unfreezing of assets. Vance insisted assets had not yet been unfrozen and that, if they were, they would be used to buy US goods such as soy beans and would not fund terrorism.
He called it “a classic Trump deal, where if Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, posted on social media: “Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran.”
“Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War,” he wrote on X after the high-level talks in Switzerland.
Vance played down the tensions that had emerged over the weekend, which were driven by escalating fighting in Lebanon, Iran’s new declaration it had again closed the strait, and an angry response from Trump.
“There was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining, but at the end of the day the talks continued and we made great progress,” Vance said.
He said White House envoy Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had come up with a process whereby the US and Qatar would have control over Iranian funds when they are unfrozen, and the money could be spent on American corn, soy and wheat.
Iran’s negotiating delegation, including Ghalibaf and Araghchi, left Tehran on Monday, headed for Omani capital Muscat to discuss “joint efforts to stabilise Iranian arrangements for managing the Strait of Hormuz”, IRNA reported.
Hormuz traffic
Meanwhile, maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz continued to flow at a faster pace than before the US-Iranian agreement, despite Tehran’s announcement of a renewed closure.
As of 1530 GMT on Monday (late afternoon local time), the Kpler maritime tracking platform had already recorded 26 transits by commodity ships.
Including container ships, at least 26 commercial vessels had already transited the strait by Monday morning, according to AXSMarine navigation data.
$300bn fund for Iran
At the heart of the deal to end the Middle East war lies a $300 billion fund to rebuild and develop Iran — but so far it is unclear who will foot the bill.
The memorandum of understanding says Washington “undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.
“The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days. All required licenses, waivers, and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America,” it added.
The text does not say who will contribute to the fund, which is only one of many economic incentives the Americans have dangled in front of Iran to encourage them to sign a definitive deal. The text also states the end of “all types of sanctions” on Iran upon the signing of a final deal, with Washington immediately issuing waivers allowing Tehran to sell oil.
US VP Vance said Iran would only get the rewards if it proves it has complied with the terms that will be hammered out in the 60-day period, which he said began on Thursday.
But US hawks have lambasted the Trump administration for giving too many concessions to Iran, and have described the fund as a boon that will embolden its theocratic government.
Gulf countries, divided over Iran in the aftermath of the war, have not confirmed they would invest in the scheme to rebuild their powerful neighbour, which has sought war reparations from the US. Asked about the fund last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan declined to comment on its details.
Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2026