Vance and U.S. officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of \u201cmechanisms\u201d to ensure the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/a>,\u00a0a vital waterway for global energy shipments<\/a>, stays open and to address fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, where a ceasefire appeared to be holding.<\/p>\n Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28, causing fuel prices to skyrocket far beyond the region. The interim agreement to end the war was supposed to reopen the channel. Dozens of ships passed through it over the weekend, even though the main route is still mined and closed.<\/p>\n Shortly after those attacks, Hezbollah and Israel also went to war, with Hezbollah\u00a0firing rockets and drones<\/a>\u00a0at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel\u00a0seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon<\/a>. Iran has insisted that addressing the fighting in Lebanon is a critical component of any deal to end the wider conflict.<\/p>\n Iran noted \u201cmajor progress\u201d to end the fighting in Lebanon and called that the first real test of the negotiations.<\/p>\n In other developments, the U.S. Treasury issued a 60-day license waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of the interim agreement. Notably, the license allows Iranian oil to be imported into the U.S., which has not imported significant amounts of Iranian oil since the 1990s.<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited the \u201congoing productive talks in Switzerland\u201d in a post on X announcing the license, which will last through Aug. 21.<\/p>\n Also on Monday, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would travel this week to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss the latest developments in Iran.<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)\n<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)\n<\/p>\n US Vice President JD Vance prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday June 21, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini\/Keystone via AP)\n<\/p>\n From left, US Vice-President JD Vance, Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif and Premier minister of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, at the Buergenstock resort resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler, Pool Photo via AP)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 4<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Monday, June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> The\u00a0mediation effort in Switzerland<\/a>\u00a0started Sunday and stretched into early Monday, and technical talks will continue this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe final deal is the house,\u201d Vance told reporters after initial talks with Iran\u2019s parliamentary speaker,\u00a0Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf<\/a>. \u201cWe set the foundation. We haven\u2019t built the house, but we\u2019ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump did not attend what was dubbed the \u201cLake Lucerne Summit,\u201d but his presence certainly loomed large. The talks were jolted by statements from\u00a0Trump<\/a>, who, from thousands of miles away, fired off comments that offended the Iranians.<\/p>\n Iranian state media said talks had paused after the \u201cpublication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.\u201d The negotiations later continued.<\/p>\n Vance pushed back against the notion that Trump\u2019s threats complicated the talks.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, they didn\u2019t throw a wrench in the system,\u201d Vance said. He added, \u201cYes, they did threaten to walk out, or at least there were social media threats that they would walk out. But we were negotiating well past one in the morning yesterday, so they didn\u2019t walk out.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance floats unfreezing Iranian assets to purchase US goods<\/p>\n The vice president suggested that the U.S. could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of U.S. soy, corn and wheat. He said\u00a0Jared Kushner<\/a>, Trump\u2019s son-in-law and one of the lead U.S. negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.<\/p>\n Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, and Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted would buy American products \u201cfor the benefit of the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran, which has pressed for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, has not commented on the idea. The assets have been frozen over years of sanctions, banking restrictions and legal disputes imposed by the U.S. and international community on the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n High-level talks have ended but technical talks continue<\/p>\n In a joint statement, mediators Pakistan and Qatar hailed what they called \u201cencouraging progress.\u201d<\/p>\n The interim deal<\/a>\u00a0to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran, sets a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of\u00a0Tehran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>\u00a0amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies.<\/p>\n Vance, who planned to return to Washington, said the technical talks are critical.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to set up a structure for that so that you could have proper political oversight, but obviously, as much as this place is very beautiful, I can\u2019t stay here for the next 60 days,\u201d Vance told reporters.<\/p>\n U.S. envoys Kushner and Steve Witkoff are handling many of the technical details.<\/p>\n More ships pass through strait<\/p>\n Meanwhile, more ships went through the Strait of Hormuz. According to data and analytics firm Kpler, there were 71 confirmed transits over the weekend, with a peak of 35 crossings on Saturday. Before the war, 100 to 130 vessels passed through the strait each day.<\/p>\n Ships have been avoiding the central route to steer clear of mines, choosing instead to use the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters.<\/p>\n Trump, over the weekend, made clear he was annoyed by Iran\u2019s public commentary on the strait, which Iran\u2019s military said it closed Saturday in response to continued fighting in Lebanon. U.S. Central Command disputed that Iran closed the strait again.<\/p>\n Ahead of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had vowed to \u201cnever back down from the right to enrich uranium,\u201d according to state media.<\/p>\n Trump on Sunday told Fox News in a phone interview that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and threatened to take over Iran, according to one of the news channel\u2019s correspondents.<\/p>\n Trump also posted on social media as negotiators worked: \u201cIran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don\u2019t, we\u2019ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!\u201d<\/p>\n Vance said the Iranians should have expected such a reaction from Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can\u2019t expect the President of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n Iranians agree there was progress on their top issue<\/p>\n![\"Vice](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782148168_301_AP26173434872216.jpg\"\/)
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\nTrump was not in Switzerland but loomed large over talks<\/p>\n