US and Iran agree on 60-day roadmap to end war after first round of Swiss talks

Roadmap to end the war

The United States and Iran concluded their first high-level negotiations in Switzerland early Monday with an agreement on a 60-day roadmap to reach a permanent peace deal. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan announced the outcome after the weekend talks at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne. The discussions followed a memorandum of understanding signed remotely by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 18 June. Technical negotiations are set to continue through the end of the week.

We achieved significant progress.

What was agreed

The roadmap includes a communication line to ensure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the establishment of a "conflict resolution cell" aimed at ending clashes in Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the progress also covers the unblocking of some Iranian assets, the lifting of restrictions on oil and petrochemical exports, and a reconstruction and development plan for Iran. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry told Reuters that a mechanism for safe navigation of ships through the Hormuz Strait had been agreed.

Vance offers a new chapter

US Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the American delegation, described the meeting as historic and said President Trump wants to reset relations with Tehran.

This is a historic meeting. The President asked us to turn the page and change our relationship with the Iranian people and to extend a helping hand to Iranians and tell them that if their leaders are willing to give up their role as a factor of regional instability, if they are willing to permanently abandon any ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform its relationship with this country.

Vance added that negotiators had already made "great progress" in the hours before the announcement and expected further advances soon.

Lebanon and the Hormuz complication

The diplomatic push is under immediate strain from escalating fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Iran has linked the success of the talks to an end to the Lebanon war, while Israel insists on maintaining its occupation of Lebanese territory and a free hand against Hezbollah. Trump warned that Iran must stop its allies in Lebanon or the US would resume attacks on Iran. Separately, Iran's military announced it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade passes; the US military disputed that claim.

What comes next

The first round of talks lasted 80 minutes, according to Iranian state television, and focused on implementing the memorandum and the Lebanon situation. Iran's nuclear programme was not on the agenda for this round. The 60-day clock for a final agreement is now running, with technical teams working through the details this week. The Swiss hosts have said they will not disclose further details to preserve discretion.