Vice President JD Vance and senior Iranian officials have arrived in Switzerland to formally launch negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. The framework was signed last week, and now top U.S. and Iranian negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.
Background
The talks between the U.S. and Iran will also include Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, as well as Qatari mediators. The agreement signed by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen.
However, the agreement is being stress-tested after fighting escalated in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah — and by the subsequent announcement by Iran’s military that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas.
US Response
U.S. Central Command disputed Iran’s claim that it had once again shuttered the strait and said U.S. forces continued to monitor the situation to ensure traffic continues to flow through the waterway. Vice President Vance has said that millions of barrels of oil have moved through the strait in recent days.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
