US-Iran Agree on 60-Day Nuclear Deal Roadmap
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- U.S. and Iran signed a deal to end the war last Wednesday, then launched marathon nuclear talks at Switzerland's Bürgenstock resort led by Vice President JD Vance with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
- Iran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again last week, though U.S. officials said it did not do so in practice, while Trump threatened to seize and toll the strait and kill Iran's peace negotiators.
- Israel intermittently bombed Lebanon in the week since the deal, and Trump suggested sending Syria to fight Hezbollah, straining the fragile ceasefire the deal depends on.
- Qatari and Pakistani mediators said "encouraging progress has been made" after 18 hours of negotiations, and the U.S. and Iran agreed on a 60-day roadmap for a final nuclear deal.
- U.S. intelligence is skeptical a full nuclear deal will be finalized, with some officials doubting Iran will make the nuclear concessions the agreement requires.
- Technical teams will remain in Switzerland through the rest of the week to continue negotiations.
Why it matters: With a 60-day nuclear roadmap now on paper but U.S. intelligence publicly doubting Iran's willingness to make the required concessions, the next two months will test whether the ceasefire holds — and whether Trump's near-daily threats to bomb Iran and kill its leaders undermine the diplomacy his own envoys are conducting in the same room. The Strait of Hormuz remains the most volatile pressure point on the deal.
