The United States and Iran have agreed a 60-day roadmap for a final deal after high-level talks in Switzerland, but Israeli military operations in Lebanon, sanctions and the Strait of Hormuz still threaten the process.

Qatar and Pakistan, which mediated the talks at the Bürgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne, said negotiators had made “encouraging progress” after a long first round.

The talks followed a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June.

That document set out a framework for de-escalation between Washington and Tehran after months of regional conflict caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The new roadmap creates a high-level committee to oversee the process. Chief negotiators will report to it through working groups on Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions, monitoring and dispute resolution.

US Vice President JD Vance led the American delegation with Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Iran’s team was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together?” Vance said at the talks.

The agreement also creates a direct communication line for the Strait of Hormuz. The aim is to prevent incidents and restore safe passage for commercial shipping through the waterway, which carries a large share of global oil and gas supplies.

Sanctions relief remains one of the central issues. Araghchi said on X that Washington had waived sanctions on Iranian oil exports and petrochemical sales, lifted a blockade, released some frozen Iranian assets and backed a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.

The United States has not confirmed all those claims. Analysts warned that Congress is unlikely to approve some elements of sanctions relief without a fight.

The talks also produced a proposed de-confliction cell for Lebanon. Its purpose is to support the end of Israeli military operations there and prevent renewed escalation.

That issue has become one of the hardest parts of the deal. Israel was not a direct party to the Switzerland talks, yet the mechanism expects changes on the ground in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will remain in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon for as long as it considers necessary. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said on X that Israel would not withdraw from the zone if it believed its citizens faced attacks from Hezbollah.

Iranian officials have warned that the Lebanon mechanism will determine whether the wider agreement survives. Esmail Qaani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, said Israel risked “humiliation and defeat” if it remained in southern Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.

Hezbollah has not endorsed the arrangement. Its leader Naim Qassem, said the group would reject any ceasefire that allowed Israel unrestricted military action in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli attacks killed at least 20 people on Saturday, one day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect. Israel said it struck after Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

The National News Agency also reported that five people were killed in Sohmor in Western Beqaa, including a child, a woman and two elderly people. Two Palestinian nationals were killed in Rashidieh, near Tyre.

One of the deadliest strikes hit a residential building in Barish, in the Tyre district, killing a father, mother and their two children, according to a local official cited by Reuters. Lebanon’s army said another Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road.

Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed 4,057 people since 2 March, including medics, women and children. It does not say how many were fighters. Israeli authorities say at least 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in fighting with Hezbollah.

Tehran wants sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, a Lebanon ceasefire and restored oil exports before detailed talks on its nuclear programme.

The nuclear file remains unresolved. The next phase will address uranium enrichment, Iran’s stockpile, the scope of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the timetable for sanctions relief.

Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, was also in Switzerland. Iranian officials want sanctions and oil issues resolved before talks move fully to inspections.

The negotiations also faced strain after President Donald Trump issued threats against Iran during the talks. Iranian negotiators left direct discussions in protest after Trump threatened to bomb Iran and seize the Iranian team unless the Strait of Hormuz reopened.

Iran later continued negotiations through mediators. Iranian media reported that the main delegation had left Switzerland, while technical teams stayed to work on the memorandum.

Trump’s tone contrasted with Vance’s public message. Vance said the US administration had been told to seek diplomatic solutions and “turn over a new leaf” with Iran.

The talks also took place against the unresolved issue of civilian deaths during the Iran war. The Guardian reported that a US investigation into the bombing of a girls’ primary school in Minab has concluded, but its findings have not been released. The attack killed at least 175 people, most of them children.

Trump said last week that “mistakes are made” and that “nobody did that on purpose”. Critics quoted by the Guardian said they feared the Pentagon would classify or bury the report.

The Minab bombing has increased pressure on Washington as it seeks a deal with Tehran. Members of Congress have demanded answers from the administration, while rights groups have criticised changes under defence secretary Pete Hegseth to civilian casualty oversight.

Tomahawk missiles have cameras with live transmission to operators. If viewing the first Tomahawk’s onboard camera footage, operators had seen the missile directly strike the Minab school filled with children aged 7-12—killing at least 100-175 children and teachers. In this scenario the second and third strikes could have been immediately prevented because Tomahawk Block IV missiles have a two-way satellite datalink that allows real-time redirection mid-flight to any GPS coordinates, loitering over a target area, or selecting from 15 pre-programmed alternate targets, giving operators 20-45 minutes (depending on ship distance) to review footage, recognize the civilian target, and redirect subsequent missiles while airborne.

The fact that two additional strikes occurred—killing children, teachers, and parents who rushed to help—suggests either the footage wasn’t reviewed in real-time before the second strike was launched, the strike sequence was pre-planned without waiting for battle damage assessment, or there was a failure in the U.S. military’s targeting approval process that includes Collateral Damage Estimation (CDE) and Noncombatant Cutoff Values (NCV) specifically designed to prevent exactly this kind of civilian casualty, making this a preventable targeting mistake by U.S. military planners rather than an unavoidable accident.

However, the US and Israel went on to target over 60 schools and universities, sports facilities, civilian bridges, residential buildings and even water reservoirs.

HT