The weekend started on a hopeful note in Switzerland as U.S. Vice President JD Vance led the American delegation in talks with Iran. However, reports of stalled negotiations have chipped away at some of this optimism that an agreement between the two embattled nations will be reached soon. Here is the latest on the situation between the U.S. and Iran, including where gas prices stand now.

Latest on the Negotiations Between the U.S. and Iran

The Swiss mountain resort town of Bürgenstock played host to leaders from the U.S. and Iran over the weekend. While Vice President Vance originally expressed his optimism that he would be able to "transform" relations between Iran and the U.S., that hope began to fade as the talks dragged on without a clear path forward.

According to reports from inside the negotiating room, comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump to Fox News on Sunday drew quick criticism from Iran's top official at the talks. During the interview with Fox, Trump said that he warned the Iranian delegation that they "won't even make it back" to Iran if a deal is not reached quickly.

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf immediately denounced Trump's remarks, saying that the comments were indicative of the "desperation" being felt on the U.S. side.

Vance said on Monday that the mediators were working on an initiative to unfreeze Iranian assets and grant the U.S. approval over what Iran can buy with the money. These comments were followed by a 60-day waiver issued on Monday by the U.S. Treasury Department on the sale of Iranian oil.

Role of Conflict Between Lebanon and Israel in the Negotiations

Lebanon continues to be a problem in the negotiations. This is because leaders in Tehran are insisting that any potential ceasefire must also include Lebanon. Israel has not stopped launching strikes at Lebanon in an effort to wipe out the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. In fact, the strikes on Lebanon have worsened since the stated truce.

Israeli military raids on the ground in Lebanon killed at least seven people on Sunday. Included in the fatality count were two elderly people and a child, according to reports from Lebanese state media. Israel is not backing down on its presence in Lebanon. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “will not withdraw from the security zone” in Lebanon.

Mediators offered a sign that there has been a bit of progress on the Lebanon front over the last 24 hours on Monday. According to the mediators, the U.S. and Iran agreed to launch a “de-confliction cell” for Lebanon facilitated by Qatar and Pakistan. The goal of this protective cell is to support the end of military operations within Lebanon's border.

Vance acknowledged that the discussions around Lebanon are holding up the peace process, calling them a "work in progress." These comments came on Monday evening as Vance prepared to depart Switzerland. When speaking with reporters for the last time, he said that “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.”

The technical talks defining the exact parameters of the peace plan are expected to continue in the days ahead. For now, the U.S. is calling the weekend talks "very productive" even if there is not a lot to show for it now.

Where the Price of Gas Stands Now

While the Trump administration had hoped to have the negotiations wrapped up by this weekend, the silver lining is that the price of gas in the U.S. is already starting to come down thanks to the hope that a peace deal will be reached. The Strait of Hormuz continues to be the sticking point in the talks happening in Switzerland.

On Saturday, leaders in Iran threatened to close the key waterway as a response to the Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The American military has denied that Iran has control over the strait. This sentiment has been amplified by Trump as he threatens to "take over" the strait if a deal with officials in Tehran is not finalized.

Despite all the uncertainty surrounding what is happening in both the peace negotiations and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the initial news of progress in the treaty talks infused some optimism about the hope for a return to price normalcy. Oil prices came down last week, falling from the recent high of over $100 a barrel.

Brent crude, the global benchmark metric, landed at about $80 a barrel on Friday. U.S. crude ended the day at $77.54 a barrel. The lower price of oil overall has been seen at the gas pump across the U.S. According to AAA, the average gallon of gas in the U.S. was running about $3.94 on Sunday. This price is down nearly 14% from just one month ago. However, the price is still about a dollar higher than it was before the start of the war.

Should the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz return to pre-war levels, a surge of oil could enter the marketplace in the months ahead. This would mean lower costs for oil and gas around the world.

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