Vice president says Bürgenstock talks set up mechanisms to keep Strait of Hormuz open and to invite IAEA inspectors

The vice president, speaking from Bürgenstock, Switzerland, said the recent talks produced four concrete outcomes intended to reduce regional escalation and advance U.S. objectives on Iran.

He said the first result was building 'a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open' and establishing coordination to de-mine the strait so commercial shipping and energy flows could resume. "It is open," he said, adding that the change had contributed to lower gas and oil prices.

The second outcome, he said, was a deconfliction mechanism for the regional ceasefire that lets parties communicate when exchanges occur so responses do not lead to broader escalation. "What it really is... is to say that when things happen, the sides are actually talking to one another," he said, describing the mechanism as intended to prevent local incidents from spiraling out of control.

He characterized the third result as a major milestone: "The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country," he said, calling that the first step toward permanently ending a nuclear weapons program. On timing, the vice president said he expected inspectors to be able to begin work "at the minimum this week" and that some conversations with inspectors "could happen as soon as today." He did not provide a firm deadline for a final agreement.

The fourth accomplishment was establishing the process and political oversight for follow-on technical negotiations. He said U.S. technical teams would continue working with Iranian, Qatari and Pakistani counterparts while political leaders maintain oversight.

In a question-and-answer session, a reporter asked whether the president's public threats had derailed negotiations after reports Iran considered walking out. "No, they didn't throw a wrench in the system," the vice president replied, saying the Iranians made threats on social media but continued negotiating into the early hours and their technical team remained on site.

On Lebanon, the vice president said the deconfliction mechanism has already helped reduce violence in recent 24-hour periods and emphasized that protecting both Israel's security and Lebanon's sovereignty will require coordination with the Lebanese armed forces and Iranian restraint of Hezbollah.

He also addressed reporting on frozen Iranian assets, describing a proposal developed with Qatari partners and Jared Kushner to require U.S. and Qatari approvals before any unfrozen funds would be used — and to direct such funds to buy American soy, corn and wheat for the Iranian people rather than to fund terrorism. "They're going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people," he said.

He closed by reiterating that he would return to the United States while technical teams continue negotiations under the agreed oversight.

The vice president's statements reflect the administration's account of progress at the talks; several assertions — including the Iranians' agreement to invite IAEA inspectors and the proposed mechanism for unfrozen assets — were reported by him during the press conference and have not been independently verified in this transcript.