US Vice-President JD Vance said talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland had laid a good foundation for a final peace deal, but Iran denied it had begun discussions on its nuclear program or agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back to the country.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday Iranian officials had not held a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Switzerland and had no plans for the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect Iran's damaged nuclear facilities.
The two sides, trying to build on the interim deal they signed on June 17 after more than three months of war, agreed on a roadmap towards a permanent agreement within 60 days at the talks in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said.
They agreed on a mechanism to end fighting between US ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil supplies that Tehran has blockaded during the war.
In the first of several steps envisaged under the agreement to provide economic relief to Iran, the US Treasury announced a waiver until August 21 on sanctions, allowing Tehran to sell oil and related products.
Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said "good progress" had been made in the talks and working groups would be established to focus on the removal of sanctions and Iran's nuclear activities.
The ambassador also said Lebanon was an "unquestionable" part of the interim accord between the US and Iran, and that it included the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.
Officials reported a sustained lull in fighting in Lebanon under the agreement aimed at ending hostilities across the region, even as Israel said it would maintain a security zone in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon were due to start a new round of talks in Washington on Tuesday.
Tanker traffic through Hormuz has started to pick up, with Oman affirming its commitment to toll-free safe passage during negotiations with Iran over administering the strait.
Vance said on Monday that Iran had agreed to allow in nuclear inspectors and to establish mechanisms to handle its frozen assets and manage ceasefires, which he said were "a very good foundation for a successful final deal".
Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that Iran would agree to have weapons inspections to ensure "nuclear honesty".
"If Iran doesn't live up to their agreement, or if they're not behaving, I will do what I have to do," Trump later told reporters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X on Tuesday the effectiveness of the talks depended on full commitment to the obligations that had been agreed and their precise implementation.
He cautioned that "statements outside the agreed text do not help advance negotiations".
Iran has limited inspections by the IAEA since the US and Israel launched a first round of air strikes in 2025, and suspended them entirely when war broke out in February.
It says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on social media that Tehran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some of its frozen assets abroad and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.
Vance said White House envoy Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, had come up with a process whereby the US and Qatar would have control over Iranian funds when they were unfrozen, and the money could be spent on US corn, soy and wheat.
Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said there was no such obligation, and at least some of the remaining frozen funds could be used to buy other non-sanctioned goods.
