J.D. Vance arrives in Switzerland to join Kushner, Witkoff for Iran talks

Vice President J.D. Vance landed in Switzerland early Sunday to help launch a new round of negotiations with Iran, U.S. officials said. He arrived shortly before 6 a.m. local time and is expected to join White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for talks aimed at producing a lasting agreement after a recently signed ceasefire, officials said.

Swiss officials confirmed Saturday that an Iranian delegation had arrived and was traveling to Bürgenstock, where the discussions are expected to take place. The talks were initially scheduled for Friday but were postponed, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.

The negotiations follow a memorandum of understanding signed by President Donald Trump after the G7 summit at the Palace of Versailles that established a 60-day ceasefire and outlined a framework for broader talks, the White House said. Trump warned in a Truth Social post Saturday that the United States could impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz if the negotiations do not produce a lasting agreement before the ceasefire expires.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also expected to participate, Axios reported. Pakistan said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir would take part in technical-level discussions in Switzerland.

Before departing Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Vance said the trip’s purpose was to set up the structure of future negotiations. “I think number one, just getting things set up in the right way and getting the actual structure of the negotiations in place,” he said. He said he expected to remain in Switzerland for a day or two and said negotiators would focus on the nuclear issue and the Lebanon ceasefire. “The big problem is that somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond,” he said. “You’ve just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to hold.”

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