Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday morning for a round of closely watched meetings with Iranian officials, as Washington looks to advance a potential peace deal with Tehran amid rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
The trip comes after a turbulent week in which negotiations were disrupted and President Trump issued a 60-day ultimatum, warning that the U.S. could impose tolls on the vital shipping route if no agreement is reached.
Vance was joined on the trip by his wife, Usha, as well as White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who are also taking part in the diplomatic effort.
The U.S. delegation is expected to meet with Iranian representatives in talks mediated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and officials from Qatar.
“I’m looking forward to starting the technical talks with the Iranians, the Pakistanis, and the Qataris… We’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue — those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on,” Vance said Saturday before boarding Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, according to a video shared by the White House Rapid Response account on X.
Vance said he expected to remain in Switzerland “for a day or two” and signaled confidence that the discussions could move forward on both Iran’s nuclear program and efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The latest diplomatic push follows a memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the week by the U.S. and Iran to pause military operations across all fronts, including in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been striking Hezbollah targets.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Emseil Baghaei, said a senior Iranian delegation arrived in Zurich on Saturday and cautioned that the agreement could be at risk if essential commitments are not honored.
Negotiations had been previously complicated by Iran’s cancellation of Friday’s talks, citing Israeli strikes that killed 16 people overnight from Friday into Saturday in Lebanon — a blow dealt less than 24 hours after a Hezbollah-Israel agreement was announced.
Vance was initially scheduled to fly to the resort near Lucerne on Friday, but the negotiations were complicated by Iran’s cancellation of the talks, citing Israeli strikes that killed 16 people overnight from Friday into Saturday in Lebanon — a blow dealt less than 24 hours after a Hezbollah-Israel agreement was announced.
Meanwhile, President Trump has set a 60-day deadline for a deal, warning that if talks fail, the US will levy tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, using proceeds for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”
US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins insisted that “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz” and noted that traffic “continues to flow.”
The military reported that 55 merchant ships transporting over 17 million barrels of oil passed through the area on Saturday.
A Hezbollah official stated that Iran would not reopen the strait unless Israel publicly commits to a “comprehensive ceasefire” in Lebanon, promising Hezbollah’s compliance in return.
With Post wires
