On June 21, 2026 (Day 115 of the Iran-Israel-US war, Operation Epic Fury / Sunday), the deal’s first crisis was pulled back from the brink as high-level talks in Switzerland produced concrete de-escalation mechanisms — even as President Trump’s threats and continued Lebanon strikes showed the underlying tensions remain unresolved. THE TALKS: US and Iranian delegations met at the Bürgenstock luxury resort above Lake Lucerne — the US side led by Vice President Vance with envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Iranian side led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — in a quadrilateral format with Pakistan and Qatar mediating, in what the mediators called a “positive and constructive atmosphere.” THE BREAKTHROUGHS: in a joint statement, Pakistan and Qatar said the US and Iran agreed to create a “de-confliction cell,” involving Lebanon and facilitated by the mediators, to ensure the end of military operations in Lebanon — the issue Iran had made its central demand — with Araghchi calling the cell’s effectiveness the “first real test.” The sides also established a “communication line” to avoid incidents and miscommunication in the Strait of Hormuz and ensure safe passage for commercial vessels during the 60-day period, and a newly formed High-Level Committee agreed a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days, with technical talks to continue all week at Bürgenstock (CNN, Times of Israel, Al Jazeera). Araghchi said “major progress” had been made to end the Lebanon war and listed other gains: “oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction and development plan launched for Iran.” THE THREATS: the day’s diplomacy was nearly derailed when Trump told Fox News the US could resume bombing Iran and “take over” the Strait of Hormuz by force if a deal is not reached — a threat that angered Iran’s delegation and briefly stalled the talks — and he posted that there would be “no tolls” in the strait “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America” as “the Guardian” if the deal is not completed; Senator Lindsey Graham went further, saying that if diplomacy fails the US will “take the Strait of Hormuz” and “obliterate” Iran if it contests US control (CNN, NPR, CBS, Britannica/AP). THE HORMUZ REALITY: US Central Command flatly contradicted Iran’s closure claim, saying the waterway stayed open and that 55 merchant ships transited on June 20 carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil — “a record going back to before the conflict” — indicating Iran’s declared closure was largely symbolic leverage rather than a physical shutdown. THE UNRESOLVED FRONT: Lebanon kept bleeding, with at least 16 people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in the south (including a strike near Lebanon’s central bank in Nabatieh) and one Israeli soldier killed and 13 injured in a Hezbollah attack; Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to maintain the IDF presence and buffer zone in Lebanon even as the issue rocked the talks Israel is not party to, while a report described US special envoys as out of sync with Secretary of State Rubio over keeping the Iran and Lebanon tracks separate. Net assessment: Day 115 defused the Hormuz crisis with real machinery — a Lebanon de-confliction cell, a Hormuz communication line, and a 60-day roadmap — and CENTCOM’s data shows the strait never actually closed, but Trump’s seize-it-by-force threats and Netanyahu’s defiance leave the deal’s core fault line (a US-Iran deal whose Lebanon clause depends on a non-signatory Israel) intact and the next stress test only days away.