American and Iranian negotiating teams opened technical talks on Sunday at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, the first formal discussions since the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 18 June aimed at ending a four-month war. The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance and including special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, met an Iranian team headed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Pakistan’s prime minister and army chief, together with Qatari mediators, are facilitating the process. The memorandum, signed remotely by Presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, provides for a 60-day ceasefire on all fronts, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the unfreezing of Iranian assets and the negotiation of a final accord centred on Tehran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief.

Viewed from Washington, the immediate priorities are to establish a negotiating structure and secure progress on the nuclear file and a durable Lebanon ceasefire. Vance told reporters the two days of talks would focus on those issues, and he claimed the US entered the process with significant leverage, given the military degradation of Iranian forces and the economic pressure still in place. Iranian officials, by contrast, have framed the negotiations as a test of American reliability. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that the entire understanding would be imperilled unless existing commitments – including the cessation of military operations in Lebanon – were implemented. Tehran also insisted on swift access to frozen funds and the lifting of the US naval blockade, linking further progress on the nuclear question to tangible steps by Washington.

The talks were almost derailed before they began after Iran’s central military command announced on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz would again be closed to vessel traffic, citing what it called a US “breach of contract” and continued Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. US Central Command disputed the assertion, reporting that 55 merchant ships transited the strait that day without incident and vowing to ensure commercial passage. President Trump, posting on social media, threatened to impose American tolls on the waterway if a final deal was not completed within 60 days, while simultaneously insisting no charges would apply during the ceasefire period. The standoff underscored how the linkage between the US–Iran diplomatic track and the parallel Israel–Hezbollah conflict continues to destabilise the process. Lebanese health authorities say over 4,000 people have died since fighting began in March, and five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the memorandum was signed.

Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed that specialised technical and expert working groups have been formed to negotiate provisions of a final agreement. The 60-day window, extendable by mutual consent, leaves little margin for delay, yet fundamental gaps remain. Iran’s president has publicly insisted on the right to enrich uranium while offering written assurances against weaponisation; American negotiators seek verifiable limits and access for international inspectors. The presence of central bank and oil officials in Iran’s delegation signals that sanctions and energy exports are integral to any package. As the technical teams begin their work, the fate of the process hinges on whether the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon can be converted into a stable truce, a condition that neither Israel nor Hezbollah – both absent from the talks – is yet willing to guarantee.