Tehran has agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, US Vice President JD Vance said Monday, after a first round of US-Iran talks towards ending the Middle East war.
“The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country,” Vance told reporters at Switzerland’s Burgenstock resort, where his talks with Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf opened on Sunday.
“That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” he said.
The talks in Switzerland were the first stage of a two-month negotiating period set out under a preliminary deal agreed last week.
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the negotiators agreed on a “roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days,” with technical talks to continue for the rest of the week at Burgenstock, an isolated hotel complex in central Switzerland.
The final deal will seek to draw a line under the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which prompted Iran to counter-attack with missile and drone salvos across the region — and effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world economy.
The negotiators aim to tackle some of the most intractable issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades, including Tehran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium.
Under the terms of last week’s preliminary deal, released by US officials, Iran will dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly by “down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA,” the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent — close to the level needed for a bomb.
Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA after Israel and the United States launched a previous wave of attacks in June 2025 and inspectors have not seen the material since.
Vance said he expected conversations with the inspectors about their return to Iran to begin imminently.
“I expect that will happen at the minimum this week, but we think even some of those conversations with the inspectors… and with the IAEA could happen as soon as today,” he said.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi posted on X on Sunday that he was at the Burgenstock and met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
Talks laid ‘very good foundation for a successful final deal’
Commenting on the talks, Vance also told reporters that first round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland had laid a good foundation for reaching a final deal on ending the Middle East war.
“We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal,” Vance said.
“The final deal is the house. We set the foundation; we haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”
“It’s important for all of us to appreciate how much was done, but honestly, there is still a lot to do as we continue to make progress on the nuclear talks, on the economic talks, as we continue to demine the straits and ensure that that flow of traffic continues to pick back up.”
“A lot of progress but still some work to do — and we’re very committed to doing exactly that.”
He insisted that the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway “is open,” with “millions and millions of barrels of crude and natural gas flowing through… that weren’t flowing before.”
Vance said he would be returning to the United States following the press conference.
Discussions “at the technical level” would meanwhile continue at Burgenstock “over the weeks and days to come,” he said.
Any unfreezing of Iranian funds will not finance terrorism
Vance also insisted that If Iranian funds are ever unfrozen under a deal to end the Middle East war, Washington can make sure that the money does not finance terrorism.
“If we ever unfreeze Iranian assets, we can ensure that… Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism,” Vance told reporters.
Among the elements agreed under the so-called memorandum of understanding was a US commitment to eventually “terminate all types of sanctions against” Tehran, and to “make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of Iran.
Vance suggested that criticism of that portion of the agreement was due to “misreporting.”
Iran has been subject to asset freezes and sweeping sanctions by the United States and other Western countries since its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
While there is no official figure for the total amount of frozen Iranian assets, media reports have estimated the sum at between $100 billion and $123 billion.
Vance said that US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, along with Qatar, had come up with “a very interesting solution” to ensure those funds were not misused.
“If there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen, then we have approval over that process; the Qataris have approval over that process,” he said.
Basically, he said, they had achieved “a classic Trump deal, where if Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people.”
He called it “great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and fundamentally, again, will contribute to this regional security architecture that we’ve built and that we’re going to work very hard to ensure that it endures.”
