U.S. Vice President JD Vance [Reuters=Yonhap News]

The United States and Iran have agreed to resume the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear inspection team in Iran, U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced on the 22nd (local time).

Speaking at a press conference after concluding the first follow-up negotiations in Lucerne, Switzerland, at the Bürgenstock Resort, following the signing of a previous memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran, Vance stated, "Iran has agreed to re-invite the IAEA inspection team to its country."

Vance, the chief negotiator for the U.S. delegation, emphasized, "This is an important event for the American people and the first step towards permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending Iran's nuclear weapons program."

The resumption of the nuclear inspection team's activities is scheduled for sometime this week and could begin as early as today, Vance added.

Vance also conveyed that technical negotiations to implement the previously agreed-upon MOU would continue in Switzerland for several weeks, following Iran's acceptance of IAEA nuclear inspections.

He was referring to Article 8 of the MOU, which states that "Iran has reaffirmed its commitment not to acquire or develop nuclear weapons," and regarding stockpiled enriched uranium, it will be handled through a "mutually agreed mechanism," but "at a minimum, it will be diluted on-site under IAEA supervision."

Vance further announced that mechanisms have been established with Iran to "keep the Strait of Hormuz open" and "de-escalation mechanisms" in the region, including Lebanon.

He explained that this refers to a dialogue system between parties in conflict regarding issues such as passage through the Strait of Hormuz and armed clashes between Israel and the pro-Iranian armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Vance likened the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to a "chicken-and-egg problem," giving the example that "if lower-level personnel launch a drone without approval from command, Israel must respond."

He stated that even if a conflict is triggered in such situations, with Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah each asserting their right to self-defense, a dialogue system has been established to prevent it from escalating into an "uncontrollable" state, and it has begun to function.

Vance introduced that even if Iran's overseas frozen assets are unfrozen in accordance with the MOU implementation, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has devised a solution with Qatar to ensure these funds are not used to support terrorism.

He said, "If Iranian assets are unfrozen, the process will require approval from the U.S. and Qatar," and "that money will be used to purchase American soybeans, corn, and wheat for the Iranian people."

He emphasized, "It's a very excellent and typical Trump-style deal," and "it's good for the American people, and it's good for the Iranian people."

Vance stated that the first round of negotiations with Iran following the signing of the MOU went smoothly and denied reports that the Iranian delegation had left the negotiation site due to President Trump's "threat of attack."

He said, "Iran did not leave the negotiation site," and "their technical team is still here at this moment, working with our technical team."