U.S. and Iran Agree on Roadmap to Final Deal Within 60 Days

The United States and Iran agreed on a roadmap to reach a final deal within 60 days to end their conflict after high-level talks in Switzerland concluded on Monday. The first round of negotiations opened on Sunday at the Burgenstock resort under a memorandum of understanding signed the previous week. Technical talks are scheduled to continue through the remainder of the week.

Vice President JD Vance led the U.S. delegation while Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf headed the Iranian side. Pakistan and Qatar mediated the discussions. The parties established a communication line to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and created a de-confliction cell involving authorities in Lebanon to ensure the termination of military operations there.

-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran-aligned Hezbollah attacked Israel, which led to an Israeli bombing campaign and ground invasion of southern Lebanon. The overall death toll from fighting in Lebanon has surpassed 4,100 since it escalated on March 2, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end the Lebanon war, adding that oil and petrochemical exports are waived, the blockade is lifted, some frozen assets are released, and a major reconstruction plan has been launched for Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Iran must immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble or the United States will hit Iran very hard again.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran’s armed forces are ready to respond and that Iran is the one who acts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary and that he would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.