Iran negotiators report progress, but obstacles loom 

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The deal to stop fighting between the United States and Iran was showing new signs of life Monday morning after a head-spinning weekend, with negotiators expressing optimism about a path toward reaching a permanent deal to end the conflict after their first day of talks in Switzerland. 

That doesn’t mean there aren’t serious obstacles to keeping the deal in place.  

Stubborn fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah in Lebanon that flared over the weekend remains perhaps the most serious threat.  

Conflicting signals over the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the blockage of which shot energy prices up around the world, also underscored the fragility of the talks.  

Still, diplomats leaving the talks very early Monday morning in Switzerland put a decidedly positive spin on the negotiations, reporting progress. 

They specifically pointed to a new negotiating cell set up to deal with the sticky problem of Lebanon, where the fighting is between two parties that are aligned with Iran and the U.S. but are not actually parties to the initial peace deal.   

Qatar and Pakistan, the two intermediaries between Iran and the U.S., emphasized in a joint statement that progress was made through the creation of a “High Level Committee” to provide political oversight of the mediation. 

The committee agreed to a “roadmap” toward reaching a final deal within 60 days, the countries said. Qatar and Pakistan said they appreciated the U.S. and Iran for their “ongoing commitment to diplomacy and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.” 

“Chief negotiators will report regularly to the High Level Committee and lead working groups focused on nuclear, sanctions, and a monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the effective implementation of the MoU, and on other matters,” Qatar and Pakistan said in the statement. 

The parties also agreed to a “de-confliction cell” that will include the U.S. and Iran and Lebanon, facilitated by Pakistan and Qatar. This cell will “ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon as per the MOU.” 

The statement said technical talks will continue this week, though it was not clear if Iran and the U.S. would keep officials in Switzerland for those talks.  

These hopeful signs came after the negotiations seemed to get off to a stumbling start, with Iran insisting there must be an end to the fighting in Lebanon, and with Tehran on Saturday saying the Strait of Hormuz was being closed once again. The strait’s opening had appeared to be one of the few immediate positives from the signing of the MOU late last week.  

Before the statement from the mediators was released, a senior U.S. diplomat engaged in the negotiations also focused on the positive Sunday night, noting that “contrary to rampant false reporting,” Iran was at the table and the negotiations were continuing. 

The negotiations took place at a resort outside of Lucerne, Switzerland. Vice President Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are leading the U.S. delegation. 

The U.S. diplomat said the sides were at work “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain full open.”  

The official also said the sides were working to enforce the ceasefire in Lebanon, something that will require cooperation from both Israel and Hezbollah.  

The MOU set up talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the issue that triggered U.S. bombing of Iran last summer and the new war that began in March. Iran has insisted it will not work to get a nuclear weapon, though that vow just matches previous statements the regime has made in the past.  

“We’ve had robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal,” the U.S. diplomat said. “We plan to continue working through each of these issues and using today’s work as a starting point for ongoing talks going forward.” 

Progress in ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah seemed to be made over the weekend when Israel’s government said its military would only take defensive actions against Hezbollah. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to root out the militant group and is under pressure from his political coalition to not give in on Israel’s security for U.S. interests.  

The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel caused a delay in the Switzerland meeting from Friday to Sunday and led to Iran’s top military command saying that it would once again close the Strait of Hormuz, arguing........

© The Hill