Vance touts U.S.-Iran progress as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah remain as sticking point

[00:00:00]Vice President JD Vance's in Switzerland this morning where he met with Iranian officials for high-level negotiations.

[00:00:05]Earlier this morning he said, quote, "Good progress was made during the talks."

[00:00:10]>> It laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal. The The final deal is the house. We 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. I think it's important for all of us to appreciate how much was done, but honestly, there is still a lot to do as we continue to make progress on the nuclear talks, on the economic talks, as we continue to de-mine the straits and ensure that that flow of traffic continues to pick back up. A lot of progress, but still some work to do.

[00:00:44]>> This comes as fresh CBS News polling shows more than three-quarters of Americans want the US to end the war with Iran now. 22% say the conflict should continue until Tehran gives up more, and 69% say the conflict with Iran was not worth the cost for the United States.

[00:01:00]So, let's bring in CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang. Uh all right, Weijia, what else did the Vice President say this morning because the images that we've been getting from Switzerland versus what the Vice President is claiming in his uh direct-to-camera moments seems to be very different.

[00:01:19]>> Well, the the Vice President continues to signal optimism, and we just heard him acknowledge that there is still a lot left to hash out with regard to reaching any kind of permanent solution, but he did announce a pretty significant breakthrough when it comes to Iran's nuclear program saying that um they have agreed to allow IAEA nuclear inspectors back into the country to ensure that they are complying. Should note that that was also something that was already in the uh previous Iranian uh peace agreement that uh President Trump ripped up when he first came to office. Um but um in terms of what happens now, uh Vance also talked about mechanisms for spending unfrozen Iranian funds, whenever that may be. He insisted that that money has not yet been made available to Iran, but we should know that the Treasury Department has officially implemented waivers for Iran to sell its oil, which obviously will be a source of revenue. He also uh talked about progress made toward ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, um and said that, you know, even though he has to get back to the US in the coming days, these technical talks will continue for weeks. Of course, they have about 60 days, less than 60 days now, to try to reach an agreement.

[00:02:46]>> Andrea, is it Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff? Are they part of the teams that are dealing with the technical details?

[00:02:51]Um number one, and number two, what else stood out to you um from what J.D. Vance said?

[00:02:56]>> Yes, those are two key players um that will be facilitating these talks, but there are also other more specific teams. For example, we heard over the weekend that there would be uh members from the Energy Department who would be there as well, um since they are uh you know, trying to reach an agreement on such sensitive matters when it comes to uh nuclear um uh ambitions for Iran. And there are other members, too, that the administration has not um identified, but certainly it is a robust team uh because there are so many different areas that they have to try to find compromise on. In terms of what else Vance said, you know, he didn't make remarks that were that long, but I think the most important takeaway is that um you know, his his bottom line was everything is going well, that there were some moments when President Trump's threats over the weekend um could have derailed the negotiations.

[00:03:58]He said there was some whining, there was some threatening, but at the end of the day, the talks continued. Now, that is what we are hearing in public. We should note that in private, CBS News has learned that other senior members of the Trump national security team are expressing optimism that Iran will be able to comply with what's in the agreement to work out an agreement. So, again, there is a lot more to be done here.

[00:04:25]>> All right, Weijia Jiang, thank you so much.

[00:04:28]>> One of the biggest sticking points of the US-Iran peace talks is Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams has more from Beirut.

[00:04:39]>> The biggest hurdle to a peace deal with Iran may not be at the negotiating table or in the Strait of Hormuz, but here in Lebanon. As long as Israel and the Hezbollah militant group keep fighting, Iran has made it clear it will not agree to a deal.

[00:04:56]On Friday, US officials said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire, but the very next day, Israeli strikes killed at least 20, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

[00:05:09]Israel said it was responding to over 50 rockets launched by Hezbollah, killing an Israeli soldier.

[00:05:20]The conflict here reignited in March after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the war in Iran.

[00:05:29]It's killed over 4,000 in this country, according to Lebanese officials.

[00:05:34]>> Iran put a ceasefire in Lebanon as a condition for a deal.

[00:05:39]>> Sami Nader is a Lebanese political analyst.

[00:05:43]>> Do you think it's possible that President Trump can put pressure on Israel to stop fighting with Hezbollah.

[00:05:49]>> To a certain point, yes. But, let's keep in mind that Israel was not part of the deal. This is a core issue as for Israel, which is its own security.

[00:06:00]>> Iran backs militant groups across the Middle East in Gaza, Iraq, and Yemen.

[00:06:05]But, Hezbollah in Lebanon is its most powerful proxy. Not just a militant organization, but a political party that runs hospitals and schools. It's designated a terrorist group by the US.

[00:06:19]Why does Iran have proxy groups?

[00:06:22]>> Because this is part of their national security strategy. They built a ring of fire around Israel that that is capable to threaten the very security of Israel.

[00:06:36]>> President Trump is under enormous pressure to end the conflict with Iran, in large part because of soaring gas prices. But, to get a deal, the US has to contend with decades-long tensions in this complex part of the world that may be intractable.

[00:06:51]Back to you.

[00:06:52]>> All right, Holly Williams. Thank you so much.