Iran talks could transform Middle East: Vance

Burgenstock: US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that negotiations with Iran had produced agreements on maritime security, regional ceasefire enforcement and nuclear inspections, describing the talks as the foundation for what could become a “truly transformed Middle East.”

Speaking to reporters before departing Emmen Air Base in Switzerland, Vance said the latest round of diplomacy had delivered tangible progress, even as both sides prepared for further technical negotiations in the days ahead.

He stressed that the Trump administration would continue to judge Tehran by its actions rather than its promises.

“This is laying a foundation for what could be a truly transformed Middle East,” Vance said. “We haven’t built the house yet, we’re gonna have to keep on building.”

The Vice President said one of the most significant outcomes was the creation of a mechanism designed to keep shipping lanes open and ensure continued energy flows through the region.

“The fundamental thing we got is number one, we set up the mechanism to ensure not only the straight support moves are open, but will stay open,” he said.

“We saw, we think, about 15 million barrels of oil come out. That’s one of the reasons why oil is so low right now. Obviously, that means lower gas prices, and gas prices are going to keep coming down.”

Vance also highlighted what he described as a breakthrough on regional security.

“We actually set up the right mechanism to ensure the regional ceasefire to manage the inevitable conflicts that will come up,” he said. “We’re working with our allies, from the Israelis to the Gulf Arabs, to make sure that sticks, and we feel very, very good about where that is.”

On the nuclear issue, Vance pointed to Iran’s agreement to allow inspectors into the country.

“We have the Iranians allowing weapons inspectors, nuclear inspectors into the country for the first time in a long time,” he said. “We’re obviously going to bolster those inspections, that inspection regime, to make sure they could never have a nuclear weapon.”

However, he cautioned that verification remained essential.

“Whether good faith or bad faith, you can’t trust anybody’s worries; you have to trust what they actually do,” Vance said.

“My point is that I trust actions, and what the President has asked us to do is verify what they’re doing, focus less on what they’re saying.”

The Vice President said both the United States and Iran had left negotiating teams in Switzerland to continue working through technical details.

“We continue to make progress on these technical negotiations,” he said.

“We left a lot of our team, the Iranians left a lot of their team at the resort there to keep on working.”

Another issue discussed during the talks was the possible release of frozen Iranian funds. Vance said Qatar had agreed to help establish an oversight mechanism to ensure the money was used in accordance with conditions set by the negotiations.

“We actually asked the Qataris to help us set up the mechanism, so that we can ensure that the money goes where we want it to go, and they agreed to do that,” he said.

“Fundamentally, that money is not going to be unfrozen unless we continue to see progress, and that will obviously be a big part of the negotiation in the days to come.”

Vance also brushed aside suggestions that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had intentionally snubbed him before negotiations began.

“No, I mean, trust me, I’ve spent a lot of time dealing with the Iranians over the last few months. Sometimes I find them extremely confusing as negotiators,” he said. “They could be confusing negotiators, but we feel like we’re making progress.”

He also mocked speculation that the talks were on the verge of collapse after social media reports suggested the Iranian delegation would walk away.

“What I did find kind of funny is that after that initial meeting, there was this, you know, sort of social media firestorm where everybody said the Iranians are going to leave, and then we proceeded to talk to them for like the next nine hours,” he said.

IANS