High-level negotiations in Switzerland seeking a permanent end to the Iran war have ended, mediators said early Monday, while technical talks will go on there for the rest of the week.

Pakistan and Qatar, the two mediators there, issued a statement making the announcement. The United States did not immediately acknowledge it. Iran, through Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei speaking to the state-run IRNA news agency, said "good progress was made."

The talks mark the start of diplomacy in a 60-day process seeking to reach a permanent deal over the Iran war. But fighting between Israel and the Iranian-back militia Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to threaten the diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Iran insisted it had again shut the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf crucial to energy shipments. The U.S. said traffic continued.