Tehran has agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, US Vice President JD Vance said, after the first round of US-Iran talks toward ending the war in the Middle East.
“The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country,” Vance told reporters at Switzerland’s Burgenstock resort on Monday, where his talks with Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf opened on Sunday.
“That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearising or permanently ending a nuclear weapons programme in Iran,” he said.
The talks in Switzerland were the first stage of a two-month negotiating period set out under a preliminary deal agreed last week.
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the negotiators agreed on a “roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days”, with technical talks to continue for the rest of the week at Burgenstock, an isolated hotel complex in central Switzerland.
The final deal will seek to draw a line under the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which prompted Iran to counter-attack with missile and drone salvos across the region and effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world economy.
The negotiators aim to tackle some of the most intractable issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades, including Tehran’s nuclear programme and enriched uranium.
