U.S. and Iran open Switzerland talks as Vance cites major progress

The meeting took place under tight security. Participants were guarded by security personnel wearing protective vests, some in military camouflage and some armed with submachine guns, while the entrance to the luxury hotel hosting the talks was blocked by concrete barriers and barricades.

Although the talks involve Washington and Tehran, the immediate pressure concerns the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, not a direct war between the U.S. and Iran. Israel had already halted fire in Lebanon on Friday under U.S. pressure, but Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, "There was and is no restriction on IDF soldiers in Lebanon to act to remove threats." He said the ceasefire announced on Saturday leaves the IDF in all positions in the security zone protecting northern Israeli communities.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said technical and technological teams had been created to manage the negotiations, along with monitoring groups to oversee implementation of the memorandum and track progress toward a final agreement. Qatar, he said, supports all efforts aimed at ensuring the talks succeed and produce a final accord that advances peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region.

Iranian state media, including Fars and Tasnim, reported claims that International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi was in Switzerland, but an Iranian team source said the nuclear issue was not on the agenda in this round. Before the talks, Iranian parliament national security committee member Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the United States must control the "Zionist regime" and stop its crimes in Lebanon, and he said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a clear message to Washington and Israel and a sign that Iran is serious about fully implementing the memorandum of understanding to end the war.