US waives Iran sanctions for 60 days as talks advance and Lebanon fighting eases

BUERGENSTOCK/BEIRUT: The United States has waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days after high-level talks in Switzerland, while officials reported a continued lull in fighting in Lebanon under an interim agreement aimed at reducing hostilities in the region.

The sanctions waiver, announced by the US Treasury, will remain in place until August 21. It allows Tehran to sell oil and related products and receive payments.

The move followed talks at the Qatari-owned Buergenstock resort in Switzerland, where the United States and Iran agreed on a roadmap for a permanent agreement within 60 days, according to mediators Pakistan and Qatar.

Technical meetings are expected to continue this week.

The two sides also agreed on a mechanism to help end fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah, and opened a communications line to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The talks came after a tense weekend in which the interim accord appeared at risk. US President Donald Trump had threatened to restart the war if Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran declared the waterway closed.

Tanker traffic through the strait began to recover on Monday, while oil prices resumed their decline. Global oil prices settled 3% lower after US Vice President JD Vance said progress had been made in the talks.

Vance said the discussions had created a strong basis for a final agreement and claimed Tehran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors, handle frozen assets through agreed mechanisms and manage ceasefires.

Iran rejected parts of that account. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told IRNA that nuclear issues had not yet been discussed and that Iran had made no new commitments.

Trump said on Truth Social that Iran would agree to weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty”. He later warned that he would act if Tehran did not follow the agreement.

Iran has limited inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency since the United States and Israel launched air strikes last year. It suspended inspections completely after war broke out in February. Tehran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets abroad and the start of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.

However, both sides differed over how unfrozen Iranian funds would be used.

Vance said White House envoy Jared Kushner had proposed a process under which the United States and Qatar would control released Iranian funds, with the money spent on US corn, soy and wheat.

Trump said the released money would go to US farmers.

Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati disputed that position, saying there was no such requirement and that at least some of the remaining frozen funds could be used to buy other non-sanctioned goods, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The interim agreement also seeks to halt fighting in Lebanon, where Israel invaded in March after Hezbollah fired across the border.

Israel was not a party to the peace agreement and has said it will not withdraw its troops from Lebanon. However, it agreed to a new ceasefire on Friday.

Lebanese officials said fighting continued for another day but had eased since Saturday night.

Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin another round of talks in Washington on Tuesday. Beirut has said it wants to continue direct negotiations, even as Iran has made Lebanon part of its talks with the United States.

Hassan Wazni, director of a hospital in Nabatieh, said the past two days had brought the longest period of calm since the war began.

More than one million Lebanese have been displaced by the conflict. Some have begun returning home, though many remain cautious.

In Qennarit, a town in southern Lebanon, mourners carried the bodies of four women killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday.

The wider conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions after US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli strikes in Lebanon. It has also disrupted global markets and pushed up oil prices before the latest decline.