US, Iran kick off talks on Lebanon, nuclear issues; Vance says progress already made
The United States and Iran began talks in Switzerland on Sunday after signing a preliminary agreement to end their war, but with the conflict in Lebanon threatening to derail the deal.
American and Iranian representatives gathered alongside delegations from mediators Pakistan and Qatar at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock, perched high above Lake Lucerne.
US Vice President JD Vance headed the American delegation opposite Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. They previously met at the only known face-to-face talks so far, more than two months ago.
“We already made progress in the last several hours and I expect we will make additional progress in the hours to come,” Vance said, standing in front of reporters for a brief press conference alongside the prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar. Though Iran’s representatives were not standing alongside them, there were several Iranian officials present toward the back of the room.
Vance called the meeting “historic” due to the high level of face-to-face engagement between Tehran and Washington, and said that US President Donald Trump had asked American negotiators to turn over “a new leaf” to transform the relationship with Iran, adding that the technical talks in Switzerland would allow for both sides to sit together and work to resolve issues.
Referencing the US desire to see a truce in Lebanon as part of the deal inked last week with Iran, Vance said Trump remains committed to a “full regional ceasefire.”
He acknowledged that such truces can “be a little bit messy,” but claimed a lot of progress was made over the last two days to ensure a ceasefire in Lebanon. He stopped short of calling for Israel to pull out of southern Lebanon as Iran has demanded citing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding’s requirement that all military operations in Lebanon cease.
Israel had no part in negotiating the MOU, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has distanced himself from it. Still, the terms of the opening clause, permanently ending the war and ruling out any resumption, indicate that it is binding on the US, Iran “and their allies.” Israeli officials are bitterly opposed to the deal’s terms, which resolve none of the war’s key goals — notably, eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and creating the conditions for the fall of the regime.
While Vance expressed optimism that the fighting in Lebanon would soon end, Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran if it could not stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble.”
In a Truth Social post shortly after Vance’s statements to reporters, Trump said: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble.”
“If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!” he added.
The post notably appeared to place the blame for the recent flare-up in Lebanon on Hezbollah and made no mention of Israel. Trump repeatedly criticized Jerusalem in recent days for operating in Lebanon in ways that he has said were indiscriminate. Like Vance, he did not call for Israel to pull out of southern Lebanon.
The MOU that the US signed last week with Iran also states that the sides will “refrain from the threat or use of force against each other,” though Trump has repeatedly taken to threatening the Iranians in recent days.
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