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Vice President J.D. Vance on Monday announced that Iran had agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into the country, marking a significant development in peace talks as the U.S. seeks to solidify a long-term agreement that will eradicate the threat of a nuclear Iran.
“That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” the vice president said, while speaking in Switzerland, where the first rounds of intense peace talks took place.
This comes just days after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a preliminary framework that kicked off a 60-day timeline to hammer out the details of a broader deal.
“Everybody is fully aware that Iran will agree to have Major Weapons Inspections in order to ensure ‘Nuclear Honesty’ long into the future,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning, on the heels of Vance’s comments.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement posted to X that Iran had also “committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz” in addition to its agreement to allow IAEA inspections.
“As part of the framework, Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general license authorizing the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian oil,” Bessent announced.
During his remarks, Vice President Vance additionally addressed discussions regarding reports of frozen Iranian assets and possible mechanisms for positively utilizing such funding.
“…If there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen, then we have approval over that process,” Vance said, discussing potential methods for directing any money. “The Qataris have approval over that process, and then the money would actually go to buy American soy, American corn, and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Vance described this as a “classic Trump deal,” because any such unfrozen funds would ultimately benefit American farmers and Iranian civilians.
“That’s great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and fundamentally, again, will be contribute to this regional security architecture that we’ve built and that we’re going to work very hard to ensure that it endures,” he said.