President Trump on Monday announced that Iran will be subject to weapons inspections as part of a comprehensive peace deal despite Tehran’s assertion that negotiators made no new commitments during the first round of talks in Switzerland over the weekend.
Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Iran had agreed to “major weapons inspections” to ensure “Nuclear Honesty” in the future.
Vice President J.D. Vance announced earlier in the day that Iran had agreed to allow International Atomic Energy inspectors to inspect its domestic nuclear sites, calling the move part of a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began nearly five months ago.
“The final deal is in the house,” Mr. Vance told reporters in Switzerland after marathon negotiations with the Iranian leaders. “We have set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”
However, Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, denied that negotiators had agreed to let IAEA inspectors back into the country. Mr. Baghaei told reporters that Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA will continue “in accordance with current procedures” and with parliament’s approval.
Iran expelled IAEA inspectors last June following Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S.-Israeli effort to bomb Tehran’s largest uranium enrichment sites.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday cited Iran’s apparent commitment to allow IAEA inspectors back into the country and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as the justification for issuing a 60-day license allowing Iran to sell previously sanctioned oil.
The license fulfills a major Iranian demand that predates the current negotiations and provides Tehran with a pathway to make billions through the international oil trade.
Iran’s oil for years has been heavily sanctioned in the West, dramatically limiting the price per barrel and the pool of customers for Tehran’s key source of revenue. Sanctions have forced Tehran to offer steep discounts for its energy. China purchases around 90% of Iran’s oil and transports it through a network of shadow tankers, according to the Treasury Department.
The U.S. earlier this year issued temporary oil waivers on Iranian oil in a bid to lower international oil prices after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which at least 20% of the world’s oil passes each year.
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The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding indicates that the Treasury Department must immediately move to “issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil” until a final agreement is reached.
The memorandum’s sanctions relief component has drawn sharp criticism from those in the U.S. and Israel who say the deal rewards Iran for closing the strait. Additionally, opponents of the deal say the U.S. gave up important leverage by agreeing to remove the naval blockade.
Speaking to reporters in Switzerland, Mr. Vance also pushed back on concerns that Iran would use revenue gained from sanctions relief to fund terrorism, adding that the U.S. had proposed that any unfrozen Iranian assets be used to purchase American goods such as soy or wheat.
Iranian state-affiliated media on Monday denied that Iranian negotiators had even discussed any such proposal during the weekend talks.
Still, Iran touted the success of the first round of negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media that the two sides had made significant progress on several thorny issues, including a ceasefire in Lebanon, oil exports, the status of Iran’s frozen assets and a $300 billion reconstruction fund.
Mr. Baghaei said U.S. and Iranian negotiators agreed to create “executive mechanisms” to supervise the implementation of provisions in the memorandum of understanding. Pakistan and Qatar, which have been mediating discussions between Iran and the U.S., announced the creation of the mechanisms earlier on Monday.
In particular, Mr. Baghaei pointed to the articles in the agreement covering a ceasefire in Lebanon, the removal of the U.S. blockade and the unfreezing of Iran’s assets.
U.S. Central Command last week announced the end of the naval blockade of Iran’s ports, which began in April. The blockade was only lifted, according to U.S. officials, after Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Lebanon has emerged as perhaps the most consequential outstanding issue going into negotiations, as Israel seemed prepared to maintain its assault on Hezbollah despite Iran’s threats to back out of the deal if the attacks continued.
However, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, reached on Friday, seemed to hold on Monday despite furious fighting over the weekend, giving further U.S.-Iran talks a window for progress.
Pakistan and Qatar on Monday announced the creation of a “de-confliction cell” which would oversee a ceasefire in Lebanon. The body will include representatives from Lebanon, the U.S. and Iran.
The memorandum of understanding’s first provision includes a ceasefire on all fronts of the war, including in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah militants since early March.
The Israeli military is currently occupying several square miles of territory in southern Lebanon that it has deemed a “security zone,” and has refused to withdraw from the territory despite the ceasefire with Hezbollah.
“We don’t have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but we will not withdraw from the security zone and expose our citizens to Hezbollah’s attacks and possible invasion,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X.
