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<\/a><\/p>\nU.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media after the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at the Lake Lucerne Summit in Switzerland on June 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The joint statement released by mediating countries Qatar and Pakistan also unveiled the creation of a Lebanon deconfliction mechanism. According to the mediators, this entails a direct U.S.-Iranian track to terminate military operations in Lebanon and includes the Lebanese government but not Israel. The mediators did not explain how that would operate or resolve the current hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Throughout the weekend Jerusalem, which watched the talks and the announcement from the sidelines with concern, doubled down on its hardline stance against Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters in Switzerland Monday before returning to Washington, U.S. Vice President JD Vance clarified that Israel had the right to self-defense, but that \u201cevery other nation in the region has the right of self-defense\u201d as well. The mechanism was to resolve direct violations of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Vance explained, indicating that it augmented the ongoing diplomatic work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to make sure that, you know, when things happen, they don\u2019t spiral into a broader escalation,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cthere really hasn\u2019t been a mechanism to have those discussions until basically around 4 p.m. yesterday.\u201d He said that the U.S. had been in constant contact with Israel on Sunday. <\/p>\n
Prior to Vance\u2019s statement, the Israeli government delivered its first overt criticism of the diplomatic efforts taking place at the B\u00fcrgenstock resort in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Jerusalem News Syndicate Conference in Jerusalem Monday, Israeli President Issac Herzog said any negotiations to end the Israel-Lebanon conflict should be done by the two countries themselves and not \u201cby Iranian extortion.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cTying Iran to Lebanon not only leaves Israel exposed to constant threat; it leaves the Lebanese weak and powerless, and will prevent their president and government from moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herzog also noted that direct talks were already taking place between Lebanon and Israel in Washington under the auspices of the State Department. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Tuesday, which Herzog said is designed to empower the Lebanese army to be the sole military force in its country. Hezbollah and Iran are not a party to those talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disarmament of Hezbollah must be inherent to any solution in Lebanon, and Iran cannot dictate the future of Lebanon \u2013 on these fundamental points there is full agreement between Israel and Lebanon,\u201d Herzog stated. <\/p>\n
He also thanked President Donald Trump for his efforts on Israel\u2019s behalf, calling him \u201cour closest friend and ally and leader of the free world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lebanese Presidency said Monday that President Joseph Aoun had received a phone call from US Vance, senior adviser Jared Kushner and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, but did not clarify when that call occurred. <\/p>\n
According to the Lebanese statement, the discussion focused on \u201cconsolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon, halting the Israeli military escalation, and the steps that must be taken in this regard, including the possibility of forming a cell for this purpose.\u201d <\/p>\n
The ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and the IDF\u2019s presence in southern Lebanon has been a point of tension throughout the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran. The shaky ceasefire has been in place since April 8 after Israel and the U.S. started the war on Iran at the end of February. <\/p>\n
In early March, Iranian proxy Hezbollah joined in by attacking northern Israel. Jerusalem has maintained that the Lebanese front needs to stay separate and has continued to take aggressive retaliatory action against Hezbollah despite the U.S. imposing a separate ceasefire in Lebanon as well. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Qatar and Pakistan said the U.S.-Iran memorandum included the establishment of a \u201cHigh Level Committee\u201d to oversee negotiations aimed at a roadmap \u201ctowards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks\u201d on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, sanctions and dispute resolution. These were the first formal discussions as part of the new U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, with Vance representing Washington.<\/p>\n
The vice president told reporters Monday that Sunday \u201cwas a very, very good day. We made a lot of good progress; we did exactly what we wanted to do,\u201d including securing an agreement from Iran that inspectors from the International Atomic Inspection Agency be allowed back into Iran. <\/p>\n
Negotiators also created a mechanism to ensure that the Straits of Hormuz remain open, Vance said, downplaying reports of disputes between the American and Iranian teams.<\/p>\n
However, Iranian media reported that members of Tehran\u2019s delegation briefly left the room during Vance\u2019s remarks after learning that Trump was issuing threats against Iran following Iran\u2019s announcement on Saturday that it planned to once again close the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Vance said it was true the Iranians had threatened to walk out, but in the end they stayed and negotiated until the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n
Trump told Fox News in a phone call on Sunday morning that he had spoken with Iran overnight and said that if the country closed the Strait, he would \u201cblow the s\u2014 out of them.\u201d Fox News also reported that Trump had said, \u201cYou won\u2019t even make it back to your f\u2014\u2014 country.\u201d <\/p>\n
Trump also posted on his Truth Social account on Sunday that unless Iran stops supporting Hezbollah, \u201cWe\u2019ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!\u201d <\/p>\n
Iranian officials reportedly responded to what they termed U.S. \u201cverbal threats,\u201d saying that \u201cany form of threat is considered a serious violation of the agreement.\u201d <\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday the talks had delivered \u201cmajor progress to end [the] Lebanon War,\u201d and added that discussions included oil exports, sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets and reconstruction plans. <\/p>\n
On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, \u201cWe will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as it takes in order to protect the residents of the North.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance on Monday said that Israel would have to withdraw, but only when it can do so safely. The Trump administration, he explained, hoped to reach a situation where both Lebanon\u2019s territorial integrity and Israel\u2019s security were protected, noting that Israel itself has said it doesn\u2019t have permanent \u201cterritorial intentions\u201d with regard to southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n
In separate remarks at Sunday\u2019s JNS International Policy Summit, Netanyahu said, \u201cWe have prevented Iran from carrying out a plan to annihilate us. We removed an existential danger.\u201d He added, \u201cWe changed Israel\u2019s security doctrine. We initiate. We attack. We surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Directly addressing the U.S.-Iran negotiations, he added, \u201cNo matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement, without an agreement, I pledge to you that Iran, as long as I am prime minister, will never have a nuclear weapon. Never.\u201d<\/p>\n