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Vice President Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday morning for talks with Iranian officials, hoping to consolidate the fragile interim deal to end the war, and kickstart fresh discussions over Tehran's nuclear program.

Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived at Emmen Air Base outside Lucerne just before 6 a.m. local time, according to his office. The vice president joined special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law.

Vance met with representatives from Pakistan, which has been brokering the talks, including the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. As well as the Iranian team, mediators from Qatar are also attending the meetings, as is Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran's state news agency on Sunday that his country's main focus will be the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon.

On Sunday morning, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran hopes to maintain its right to some form of nuclear program. “What is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,” he said, according to Iran's state media.

While the United States and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this week, the terms of that agreement have already been placed under strain, after Iran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, an act that would undermine the deal.

On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the strait closed, 

according to state-controlled Iranian media

, citing what it called “the explicit breach of the first clause of the post-war memorandum of understanding by the United States” and the latest exchange of fire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Iran's state broadcaster Press TV reported the IRGC Navy was warning all vessels to “absolutely refrain from any movement in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice.”

 through the strait was proceeding normally, insisting on social media that 55 commercial vessels had completed the transit successfully, carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil, and that “safe passage through the international waterway remained intact.” The U.S. added that its forces remained “present and vigilant” to ensure all terms of the agreement with Iran were being honored. Even with this disagreement over the vital waterway, both nations appear to be proceeding toward the next phase of diplomatic talks.

 that presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and former senior White House adviser Jared Kushner had already arrived in Switzerland. “Jared and Steve have been on the ground now for a few hours dealing with some of the technical elements of this negotiation,” Vance told Fox and Friends, adding that full talks could begin “as soon as tomorrow.”

Vance and second lady Usha Vance departed the U.S. on Saturday afternoon for talks in Switzerland.

“I can only be there for a day or two. I think 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 to be focused on,” Vance told reporters Saturday. “I'm sure the Iranians are going to have issues they'd like to discuss as well.”

When asked about fighting in Lebanon possibly affecting the diplomatic process, Vance said, “Things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit.”

 said Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi would also travel to Switzerland to “follow up on the implementation” of the MoU signed by Washington and Tehran. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry 

 the location and timing of what it called “technical-level” talks, in the Swiss resort town of Bürgenstock, adding that Pakistani and Qatari mediators would be participating alongside the U.S. and Iranian representatives.

The stakes for these talks are considerable. 

A 2015 agreement between the U.S. and Iran brokered under the Obama Administration, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, took almost two years to negotiate and placed hard limits on Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for international sanctions relief. 

The first Trump administration withdrew from it unilaterally in 2018. Years of diplomatic dead-ends followed, including indirect talks via the Omanis and again in Geneva earlier this year, before a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched against Iran in late February.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed this week does not involve other nations, as did the JCPOA, but commits both countries to 60 days of talks, which could be extended, on a final nuclear agreement, with significant incentives for Tehran including reconstruction funds and eventual sanctions relief.

 that the U.S. could impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz if a deal isn't reached. “There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs,” Trump said.

Lebanon conflict remains a potential dealbreaker

The more immediate threat to this broader peace process are events in Lebanon. Israeli forces and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire throughout Saturday, hours after a ceasefire announced Friday appeared to — very briefly — take hold. The 

 strikes on the southern town of Nabatiyeh and surrounding villages killed at least 16 people, with civilians among the dead. 

 Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at its forces overnight who were operating in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah said it was responding to Israeli advances toward Lebanese territory and insisted it remains committed to any genuine ceasefire.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed the U.S.-Iran MoU, though the agreement explicitly calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and respect for Lebanese sovereignty — a provision Iran says the United States is obligated to enforce.

Talks originally scheduled for Friday in the Swiss resort town were postponed because of the fighting in Lebanon.

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Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least seven people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. 

JD Vance arrives in Switzerland for talks with Iran over fragile peace deal

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