U.S. and Iran Begin Swiss Talks Aimed at Ending the War

Talks between the United States and Iran opened today, Sunday, at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, with both sides trying to advance an arrangement that would end the war and formalize their understandings. According to AP and Axios, the American delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, alongside President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Iranian delegation is headed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The two sides first met separately with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, and later reports said a joint meeting took place with representatives from both delegations. CBS said Vance was even seen in the same room with the Iranian team, an unusual sight given that Washington and Tehran have for years communicated mainly through intermediaries.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the opening of the talks, calling it a “great day that will lead to world peace.” He said he expected productive negotiations between the United States and Iran and thanked Trump for what he described as the vision that led to the direct channel. Vance said the United States is seeking a diplomatic solution to a range of open issues, led by the nuclear dispute, the ceasefire in Lebanon, and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Vance also said the administration wants to open a new chapter with the Iranian people while ensuring regional stability and the free flow of oil and gas in the Middle East. But Tehran has already set a condition for moving forward. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said Iran will not move to the next stage of talks on sanctions and the nuclear program before a stable ceasefire is reached in Lebanon. That makes Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel’s room to operate in the north part of the broader deal Washington is trying to build. In Jerusalem, Defense Minister Israel Katz said today there has never been any restriction on IDF troops in Lebanon from acting to remove threats.