US and Iran reach interim deals but clash over nuclear inspections on first day of talks
The first day of US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, produced narrow agreements alongside public disagreements that show how far the two sides remain from a durable settlement. The talks follow a memorandum of understanding signed the previous week.
On the agreed side, Washington waived sanctions on Iranian oil for 60 days , freeing roughly 67 million barrels held in Gulf tankers, and the two sides established a communication line to prevent incidents and keep commercial traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz. They also set up working groups on nuclear matters, sanctions and dispute resolution.
The contradictions matter more than the headlines suggest. Vice President JD Vance said Iran had agreed to “highest level” nuclear inspections “long into the future,” but Iran’s foreign ministry said there is “no clear schedule” for IAEA access and made no new commitments on its sites. Tehran continues to refuse to surrender its 440kg of 60-percent enriched uranium, floating only the options of transferring it to a third country or diluting it domestically. On the $12 billion in frozen assets Iran expects released, President Trump said the funds would sit in a US-controlled escrow account restricted to purchases of American agricultural goods — far from the unrestricted access Iran described.
The pattern — concrete economic steps now, unresolved verification later — leaves the core nuclear question for the working groups, where the gap on inspections and the uranium stockpile is widest. Iran’s President Pezeshkian travelled to Pakistan after the session for follow-on talks.