Vice President Vance is on his way back to the U.S. after he said negotiators made progress toward a lasting peace deal.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Vice President JD Vance says Iran has agreed to allow U.N. nuclear inspectors back into the country.
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JD VANCE: That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
DETROW: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson told Iran state media that their interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency will continue as usual and in accordance with Iranian law. Vice President Vance made the announcement from Switzerland after the first day of nuclear talks. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez just returned from Switzerland and joins us from the White House. Hi, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: What more can you tell us about this first round of talks?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. Vice President Vance was joined by Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner for that first day of high-level talks. Now, Vance has obviously been at center stage for the high-stakes negotiations, and he spoke very positively about the progress they’re making. He said the two sides also established a framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including demining the waterway. They also created a mechanism to help maintain the ceasefire in Lebanon, including a line of communication to basically contain any incidents and prevent things from escalating.
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VANCE: We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal. The final deal is the house. We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, that deconfliction line is particularly key considering how unpredictable fighting has been between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. You know, there are a lot of concerns that Israel could play a spoiler role in this deal if it can’t hold off in attacking Lebanon.
DETROW: U.N. inspectors, of course, feels quite familiar – how significant is it that they’re likely returning to Iran?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, the potential for this happening is a big deal. I mean, one of the challenges has been that no one, or at least no one in the international community has had, you know, basically a good grasp of Iran’s nuclear activity. Vance says they’re having active conversations with inspectors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency. And as you say, what’s particularly interesting is that these same U.N. inspectors were a big part of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, the one that Trump ended and continues to criticize as weak.
DETROW: Yeah. These agreements, though, do feel like they’re worth pointing out, though, especially considering that over the weekend, President Trump was again threatening more strikes.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. The Iranians threatened to pull out of the talks after Trump threatened those strikes, and it shows that – just how delicate these talks are going to be moving forward. I mean, there’s still some very challenging issues that need to be resolved, so I expect some more touch-and-go moments.
DETROW: One other thing that I think kind of hearkens back to that deal that Trump has long criticized. And this is this proposal to release billions of Iranian frozen assets contingent on their cooperation. What did the vice president say about that?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. He said there was a plan proposed that if Iran was permitted to access those funds, that the U.S. and Qatar would oversee how the money is spent. Vance actually credited Jared Kushner with coming up with the scenario where the money would go to buy American goods, including soy, wheat and corn, though it’s not really clear Iran has any need for those products. And Vance did not give any details, and it also just seems tough to enforce.
DETROW: That is NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, just off the plane. Thank you so much.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Scott.
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