Iran’s senior negotiating team has left Switzerland after the first high-level U.S.-Iran talks under last week’s war-ending framework, but the negotiations are not over. Technical teams are now expected to keep working through the details that could decide whether the fragile 60-day process survives.
The Associated Press reported that high-level negotiations wrapped after mediators Pakistan and Qatar described “encouraging progress,” with lower-level talks planned for the rest of the week. The Guardian and Sky News also reported that Iran’s senior delegation had departed the Bürgenstock resort area while deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi stayed behind to lead technical discussions.
What changed Monday
The new phase matters because the weekend talks were not just symbolic. Mediators said the U.S. and Iran agreed to keep working on mechanisms tied to the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon, sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program, and enforcement of the memorandum of understanding signed last week.
Sky News reported that Iran’s foreign ministry framed the next stage around three core points it says Washington must honor: ending military operations on all fronts, allowing Iranian oil and petrochemical exports, and releasing frozen Iranian assets. The Guardian reported that the Swiss foreign ministry welcomed “constructive progress” and said the roadmap created conditions for immediate technical discussions.
That makes Monday’s departure a pivot point, not a clean finish. Iran’s top political figures have gone home, but the harder implementation work is starting with technical teams, mediators, and disputed commitments still on the table.
Lebanon is still the first test
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said mediation by Pakistan and Qatar had produced major progress toward ending the Lebanon war, but he also described the proposed Lebanon deconfliction cell as the first real test. That is the pressure point because Israel and Hezbollah are not direct signatories to the U.S.-Iran arrangement.
The Guardian reported that Israel’s leadership continues to resist a full withdrawal from its southern Lebanon security zone, while Lebanese officials and Iran are pressing for an end to Israeli military operations. Sky News separately reported that Lebanon’s authorities said more bodies had been recovered from areas hit by recent strikes.
If the deconfliction cell cannot keep Lebanon quiet, the broader U.S.-Iran track could be dragged back into crisis quickly.
Hormuz remains unsettled
The Strait of Hormuz also remains a live risk. Sky News reported that Iran’s national security commission chief warned that Tehran views the strait as sovereign Iranian waters, even after negotiators discussed a communication channel to prevent incidents and miscalculation.
That is why the technical phase is bigger than routine paperwork. The U.S. wants predictable commercial passage through the waterway. Iran wants sanctions relief, asset access, and leverage over implementation. Both sides are trying to convert a crisis pause into a functioning mechanism before the 60-day window runs out.
For now, the diplomatic track is alive. But the high-level handshake phase is over, and the next stage depends on whether negotiators can turn disputed promises into rules that actually hold.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian, Sky News.