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Mediators between Qatar and Pakistan have said that United States and Iran they agreed on “a path towards a final agreement within 60 days”, following what they called “encouraging progress” on the first day of high-level talks in Switzerland.
The talks followed the signing of a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 17 that laid the groundwork for further de-escalation between Washington and Tehran.
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The victory came after a 12-hour meeting at Lake Lucerne where officials from the two countries held.
The joint statement also announced the creation of a “conflict resolution cell” aimed at ending Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, along with a high-level committee and direct communication mechanisms designed to facilitate further negotiations.
US Vice President JD Vance led the Washington delegation, along with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The Iranian delegation was led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
So what are the main takeaways from this discussion?
Executive committee, communication channels
A high-level committee has been set up to “provide political oversight of the mediation”, according to a statement issued by Qatar and Pakistan, which acted as mediators in the talks. The statement said the committee “agreed on a path to reach a final agreement within 60 days”, and further technical discussions are expected to continue over the next two months.
“The chief negotiator will report regularly to the High Committee and lead the working groups that focus on nuclear, sanctions, and the management and dispute resolution team to ensure that the MoU is implemented, etc.,” it added.
Thomas Warrick, the non-resident head of the Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera that the next round of technical negotiations could be more difficult than the political agreement itself, and in the end it could take longer than the 60 days described in the interim.
The agreement comes as major questions remain unresolved, including whether Iran will be allowed to continue enriching uranium, the future of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the extent of international inspections and the timing of sanctions relief.
On the nuclear issue, Warrick said “the main problem is that removing or reducing enriched uranium will take several thousand people, maybe 1,000 Americans, to other nuclear facilities in Iran”, referring to Washington’s demand to take part in reducing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
“I can’t imagine that Iran is very happy with that idea,” he added.
The parties also established a “line of communication” that focuses on the Strait of Hormuz to “avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz”.
The announcement comes amid disruptions to maritime traffic through the waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports pass. An analysis by maritime intelligence firm Windward showed that 12 ships crossed the port on Sunday, down from 35 crossings the previous day.
Iran’s blockade of the route led to a global energy crisis, which affected the world economy.
Lebanon’s price changes
The agreement also included the creation of a “conflict resolution cell” whose purpose was to support efforts “to ensure the complete cessation of hostilities in Lebanon”.
Araghchi also announced “great progress” to end the war in Lebanon, but warned that the real test of the agreement will be the strength of the “Lebanese de-confliction cell”.
This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as it wants. The security zone established by Israel covers about 602 square kilometers (230 square miles), or about 6 percent of Lebanon’s territory.
The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force then warned Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon or risk a retreat from the country in 2000.
Esmail Qaani wrote on television that if Israel continues its “brutality and occupation”, it will be forced “in shame and defeat”, according to the government’s Press TV. So far, Hezbollah has not publicly commented on the deal.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank, said that Israeli commentators described the outcome of the Swiss negotiations as an Israeli identity crisis.
“The previous ceasefire with Hezbollah was negotiated between the US and Israel. It gave Israel the freedom to act,” he said.
“But this time, there is another change … and Israel feels that they will be forced to play along.” Right now, the thinking, the planning, the management of Israel is focused on how much Israel can do without losing the confidence of the Israeli people.”
Some experts are skeptical of the machine’s impact on employment in Lebanon. Joey Hood, the former US ambassador, said that neither the Lebanese nor the Israeli governments were directly involved in the negotiations that created the machine, although they were expected to implement any mechanism to stop the war.
“So it is giving Iran the power to vote in Lebanon… So the agreement seems to be saying, we accept the responsibility of the regional leadership of Iran, including its representatives,” he said.
Mark Kimmitt, former head of the US State Department and a retired military commander, added that the inclusion of Lebanon in the main talks “makes it more difficult”.
“The truth is, it’s not often that foreign countries can solve an internal problem in a conflict between two different countries,” he added.
But early signs are that the deal has had an impact, with Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett reporting that “there has been a subtle calm here in Nabatieh as an end to the fighting seems to be happening” in southern Lebanon.
“It has followed several brutal and bloody days in this city and surrounding towns and villages,” he added.
Reduced penalties, winter cargo
Araghchi also said that the deal includes a major economic endorsement from Washington, even before the United States has publicly confirmed it.
In X’s letter, he said that the sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and petrochemicals have been removed, the embargo has been lifted, some of Iran’s frozen goods have been released and a major plan for reconstruction and development in Iran has been implemented.
He also described this as Iran’s biggest achievement.
However, Warrick cautioned that granting sanctions relief could be politically difficult in Washington, especially where congressional approval is needed.
“Congress is very unhappy with the deal right now. And it’s not clear that Congress will agree to lift some of the sanctions that Iran wants lifted,” he said.
