US Vice President JD Vance Departs for Switzerland for Iran Negotiations
US Vice President JD Vance has departed for Switzerland to hold talks with Iran on implementing an agreement to end the war in the Middle East. He stated that negotiators would discuss the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme and the Lebanon ceasefire.
“I think we will hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we have to focus on,” Vance told reporters before departing from Joint Base Andrews, as reported by AFP on Sunday (21/6/2026).
Vance said he would only be able to join the talks “for a day or two.”
Negotiations had been planned in Switzerland on Friday, but the plan was delayed at the last minute after Israel launched a series of deadly strikes in Lebanon following the deaths of four of its soldiers in combat. After further clashes, both Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of violating the new ceasefire, which is part of an initial agreement signed by the US and Iran this week.
Vance said the situation in Lebanon was “actually getting better.”
“It’s going to be something we have to continue to manage to make sure that both Israel and Lebanon are safe and secure,” he said.
“The big problem is when somebody shoots, then somebody shoots back, and you have this chicken-and-egg problem where you have to stop the shooting long enough to get the ceasefire to hold,” he continued.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are already in Switzerland handling the technical elements of the talks, Vance previously said. Meanwhile, an Iranian delegation landed in Switzerland on Saturday evening ahead of the discussions at the Burgenstock resort on the initial US-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war.
“We welcome the arrival of the Iranian delegation in Switzerland,” the Swiss Foreign Ministry said on X, adding that the talks are part of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed with the United States.
Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, also reported that the Tehran delegation had arrived in Switzerland ahead of the talks.