ZURICH – U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to support the formal start of talks with Iranian officials aimed at limiting Tehran’s nuclear program and expanding a delicate interim arrangement designed to end the war in Iran.
The framework agreement was signed last week, setting U.S. and Iranian negotiators on a 60-day timeline to settle complex technical issues with far-reaching consequences for global security and the world economy.
But the opening stretch of that two-month window has already been clouded by intense cross-border fire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, followed by Iran’s military declaring it had closed the Strait of Hormuz — a critical passageway for about one-fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas.
Vance had been expected to arrive Friday at the scenic Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne, but his trip from the United States was postponed after the situation in Lebanon worsened and Iranian officials backed out of their initial plans to attend.
U.S. Central Command challenged Tehran’s assertion that it had again shut the strait, saying American forces were continuing to track developments and work to keep maritime traffic moving. Vance has said millions of barrels of oil have passed through the waterway in recent days.
Vance left the United States shortly after Iranian state television reported that Tehran’s delegation had reached Switzerland. The Iranian team includes parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with officials from the central bank and oil sector.
The vice president joins special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who were already in Switzerland to begin working through the technical dimensions of the nuclear negotiations.
The U.S.-Iran discussions are also expected to involve Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Qatari mediators. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sharif will hold separate meetings with the Iranian, Swiss and U.S. delegations “to reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region.”
Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, arrived at Emmen Air Base outside Lucerne just before 6 a.m. local time, according to his office. While Vance said he planned to be in Switzerland for just “a day or two,” leaving much of the detailed negotiations to be spearheaded by Witkoff and Kushner, his role in the talks has heightened scrutiny of the vice president at a time when he’s actively considering a 2028 presidential campaign.
Trump and Vance have come under searing criticism from parts of their own party for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to a nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and the GOP have insisted did nothing to actually terminate Iran’s nuclear program.
The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. It also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes last summer.
The agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without a charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat on Saturday to levy U.S. tolls on the strait if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting in a social media post that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”
The Trump administration has been working to reassure global markets that the Iran war has been merely a blip on oil prices, as Americans have complained the conflict resulted in hiking gasoline prices ahead of peak summer travel months. After the White House announced the deal a week ago, oil futures dropped almost 8% — and markets are expected to closely track the progress of talks when they open for trading on Sunday evening.
Further complicating matters, neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the deal between the U.S. and Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the initial days after the agreement between the U.S. and Iran killed 47 people in Lebanon, as well as four Israeli soldiers.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
