Vice President JD Vance joined U.S., Iranian, Pakistani and Qatari officials in Switzerland for negotiations aimed at turning a 60-day ceasefire framework into a broader agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and regional security.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for high-level talks with Iranian officials as the Trump administration works to turn a fragile interim agreement ending the Iran war into a broader nuclear and regional security deal.
The negotiations began at the Bürgenstock resort near Lake Lucerne, where delegations from the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar gathered after delays caused by renewed fighting in Lebanon and Iranian threats involving the Strait of Hormuz.
The talks mark the start of a 60-day negotiating window created by last week’s framework agreement signed by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The agreement temporarily halted hostilities and opened the door for negotiators to address major unresolved issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, oil sales and maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance and second lady Usha Vance arrived at Emmen Air Base outside Lucerne shortly before 6 a.m. local time, according to the vice president’s office. Vance had initially been expected in Switzerland on Friday, but his trip was delayed after Iran canceled its earlier plans to attend the talks following an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were already in Switzerland ahead of Vance’s arrival to begin working through technical details of the negotiations.
Iran’s delegation includes parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with officials from Iran’s central bank and oil sector.
Pakistan and Qatar are serving as mediators. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir are participating in the talks, along with Qatari officials. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sharif will also hold separate meetings with delegations from Iran, Switzerland and the United States “to reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region.”
The Swiss government said talks were expected to begin shortly after the delegations arrived Sunday morning.
The negotiations opened under immediate pressure.
Only days after the U.S.-Iran framework was signed, fighting intensified in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group. Iran’s military then announced that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors and a waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas.
U.S. Central Command disputed Iran’s claim, saying American forces continued monitoring the waterway and that commercial traffic was still moving through the strait. Vance has said millions of barrels of oil have passed through the route in recent days.
The interim agreement allows commercial vessels to move through the Strait of Hormuz without charge for 60 days. However, it does not bar Iran from imposing fees in the future. Trump warned Saturday that the United States could impose its own tolls on the waterway if no final deal is reached within the 60-day period, saying 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 sought to calm global energy markets after the war drove up gasoline prices ahead of the summer travel season. Oil futures fell almost 8% after the White House announced the agreement last week, and markets are expected to closely follow the Switzerland talks when trading resumes Sunday evening.
The nuclear portion of the agreement remains unsettled.
Under the framework, Iran would dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried beneath nuclear sites targeted by U.S. strikes last summer. The agreement also allows Iran to sell oil freely and sets a path for Tehran to access billions of dollars in frozen assets.
Those provisions have prompted criticism from Republican hard-liners, who have compared the deal unfavorably to the Obama-era nuclear agreement that Trump and many Republicans long argued failed to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump and Vance have defended the agreement as a practical way to lock in Iran’s weakened position after months of conflict while giving negotiators time to secure more permanent terms.
Vance has said he expects to remain in Switzerland for only “a day or two,” leaving much of the detailed negotiating work to Witkoff and Kushner. His central role in the talks has nevertheless drawn attention as he weighs a potential 2028 presidential campaign.
The regional track may prove as difficult as the nuclear discussions. Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the U.S.-Iran agreement, but their conflict is already testing the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon until threats to Israel are removed. Hezbollah has said it will not stop attacking unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.
In the first days after the U.S.-Iran framework was signed, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah killed 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.
The violence has raised questions over whether Iran will continue participating in negotiations if Hezbollah and Israel remain engaged in active combat.
The Switzerland talks are intended to produce a technical roadmap for the broader agreement before the 60-day window expires. That work includes nuclear inspections, uranium dilution, frozen assets, oil exports, regional security guarantees and the future status of the Strait of Hormuz.
The outcome carries major implications for global energy markets, U.S. foreign policy, Iran’s nuclear program and the balance of power in the Middle East.
For now, U.S. and Iranian officials are beginning talks under a temporary deal that has already faced military, political and economic strain.
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