U.S. and Iran Report Progress on Nuclear Talks While Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday that negotiations with Iran at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, had made very good progress. Iran agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, a step Vance called a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.

The talks continued despite strains over the weekend. Iran announced it had closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, which it said violated the ceasefire. Vance acknowledged some threatening and whining during the period but stated that the talks still advanced.

Vance added that a deconfliction mechanism is now in place to avoid escalation in the region. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately said the talks had yielded major progress, cnbc.com reported.