Iran says first round of talks yielded deal on Strait of Hormuz passage, progress on sanctions

Iran's negotiating team said Sunday that the first round of talks held in Switzerland with the United States produced an agreement on a framework for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry and its negotiating delegation with the US, told Iranian state television on Monday that the two sides "agreed to establish a mechanism for safe vessel passage through the Strait of Hormuz," calling it "an important matter."

Baghaei said the talks also covered the issuance of permits for Iranian oil exports and the release of frozen Iranian funds, describing both as critical issues on which "considerable progress" had been made. If export permits are granted, Iran would be free to sell crude oil, petroleum and related petrochemical products on global markets without sanctions.

Baghaei said "the war must end on all fronts, including Lebanon," and added that while the negotiating team's work at this stage was complete, discussions on matters needed for the effective implementation of the memorandum of understanding would continue Tuesday in talks attended by the mediating countries.

He said that under Article 13 of the memorandum of understanding, those conditions must be fulfilled before the parties can enter into negotiations toward a final agreement.

Article 13 of the war-end memorandum stipulates that a final round of negotiations can only begin once a set of conditions has been met — including an end to hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the lifting of the US maritime blockade, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, the granting of export permits for Iranian crude oil and petrochemical products, and the release of frozen Iranian funds.

Baghaei also said the talks had been grueling. "We had a very long day — the talks began on the morning of June 21 and lasted 18 hours," he said.

Describing the atmosphere during the session, Baghaei said threatening remarks by the US were made public during the four-party talks, prompting Iran to declare it was unwilling to continue under such conditions. "Qatar and Pakistan tried to keep the dialogue going, but we refused," he said.

He added that Iran's position was that "the other side must be held accountable and pressured to fulfill its obligations," saying the delegation had expressed concern over the other party's failure to honor its commitments — particularly what he described as Israel's continued violations of the truce.

The remarks appeared to refer to a statement by US President Donald Trump, who warned that Iran would "cease to exist" if it closed the strait. Iran had threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, citing what it called Israeli violations of Article 13 through continued attacks on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group in Lebanon. Iran's delegation was reported to have briefly refused to continue the talks in response to Trump's remarks.

Pakistan and Qatar — the two mediating countries — also confirmed that the high-level talks had concluded, according to the Associated Press, saying working-level negotiations toward a final nuclear deal would continue.