US-Iran talks in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock resumed on Sunday (June 21) and continued with intensive midnight discussions in the early hours of Monday, June 22, despite extremely high tensions and conflicting reports of failure, Al Jazeera reported.
Delegations remain at the negotiating table under the auspices of Qatar and Pakistan, trying to save a fragile peace agreement amid harsh rhetoric from Washington and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran.
Failure or tactical maneuver?
Sunday began with a severe breakdown in communication after US President Donald Trump posted a sharp warning on social media, threatening Iran with “unprecedented strikes“ if its proxies in Lebanon do not cease fire.
Iranian state media immediately announced that the Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had left the hall in protest after only 80 minutes of talks. Diplomatic sources in international agencies, however, denied the information about a final rupture.
Late in the evening it became clear that the negotiators had returned to the table for heart-stopping midnight consultations.
The Breakthrough for the Strait of Hormuz
Despite Tehran's official statement that it was closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz due to the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, a glimmer of hope came in the early hours of today. American representatives in Switzerland reported “serious progress“ in talks to keep the sea route open to commercial shipping, averting a panic in global oil markets.
The Lebanese Knot and the Price of Peace
The main sticking points in the 14-point memorandum remain two. Iran is demanding that the White House stop Israel in southern Lebanon, while the US delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, is demanding that Tehran completely halt its nuclear enrichment.
The Economic Stake
Negotiators are currently working out the technical details of lifting oil sanctions on Iran and gradually unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian assets in the West.
The situation in the Alps remains dynamic. Both sides have a 60-day window to act, but the enormous mutual distrust and events in the Middle East could tip the balance at any moment. We are following the negotiations as they unfold.