Vance says ‘great progress’ made as Iran talks kick off
US Vice President J.D. Vance said “great progress” had already been made in talks between US and Iranian officials in Switzerland on a long-term peace agreement.
“The president has asked us to turn a new page in transforming our relationship with the Iranian people,” Vance said Sunday at the mountain resort of Burgenstock, where talks began just hours earlier.
“We’ve already made great progress in the last few hours, and I’m hopeful we’ll make even more progress,” Vance said.
The talks, called the “Lake Lucerne Summit”, began on Sunday afternoon on the shores of Lake Lucerne.
According to the Qatari foreign ministry, which acts as a mediator between the warring countries alongside Pakistan, the first high-level meeting was attended by representatives from the United States and Iran, as well as delegations from Pakistan and Qatar.
Qatar said there was hope that the meetings would lead to “a comprehensive and permanent agreement on all points of the framework agreement”, referring to the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran earlier this week, paving the way for talks in Switzerland.
Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, a final agreement on the cessation of hostilities and Iran’s nuclear program will be reached within 60 days.
The US delegation led by US Vice President @JDVance, the Iranian delegation led by Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher @mb_ghalibaf and mediators Pakistan and Qatar arrived at Bürgenstock. Negotiations between the parties will begin today. pic.twitter.com/AjUk4wsawz— Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@SwissMFA) June 21, 2026
However, despite the ceasefire that was part of the memorandum of understanding, the talks were overshadowed by ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon.
“Iran must immediately stop its high-paid PROXYS from causing trouble in Lebanon. If they don’t, we will hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” US President Donald Trump said in an online post, an apparent reference to the escalation of tensions he ordered earlier this month.
During the talks, Vance downplayed the impact of the violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made in recent days toward ending hostilities there.
“These things are always a little complicated,” he said.
🎥 Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati came to the negotiation center in Switzerland to focus on the implementation of the Islamabad Consensus and next steps. pic.twitter.com/Sw5gs6QBlt— Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (@Iran_GOV) June 21, 2026
Although a new ceasefire was declared in Lebanon on Friday, there is little sign of an end to the fighting there.
Iran’s military said on Saturday that it had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, which remained closed for nearly four months, causing the largest disruption in global energy supplies in history.
U.S. officials debated whether to close the strait again, but commercially available shipping data showed an immediate effect.
Only a single small tanker crossed the strait with its location signaling transponders turned on after Iran’s announcement, compared to dozens of ships in recent days as traffic began to return to pre-war levels.
Earlier Sunday, Vance briefly appeared before the traveling media as he, along with envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army Chief Marshal Asim Munir.
Warm greetings were exchanged and Vance asked, “What’s up, buddy?” he said. He shook hands with Münir and hugged him.
“Brother,” Münir said, reaching out to Witkoff and embracing him.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Sunday’s talks would last only one day.
Baghaei said that since the United States cannot guarantee a ceasefire in Lebanon, the talks will only cover the implementation of the agreement and will cover important issues envisaged for the next phase of negotiations.
With DPA and AP
