U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Switzerland with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for talks with Iranian representatives, in the presence of delegates from Qatar and Pakistan. Speaking at the Lucerne Lake summit, he opened by thanking the U.S. president and said Washington had been given the power to find diplomatic answers to issues that matter to Americans and to the wider world.
Vance then claimed major progress had already been achieved, saying the Strait of Hormuz had reopened and Iran’s nuclear issue was already resolved. “Opening the Strait of Hormuz, ending the Iranian nuclear program, all these things have already been achieved,” he said, adding that the question now was how much more could be accomplished together. He also asked whether the region could “turn a new page” and permanently change relations in the Middle East, or return to the old way of doing things.
The vice president praised Pakistan’s prime minister and army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for their central role in the negotiations, and joked that two important figures in his life were “an Indian and a Pakistani,” identifying the Indian as his wife and the Pakistani as Munir. He said he had spoken with Munir more than anyone else over the past three months, and also credited Qatar as a vital partner in getting to this point.
Vance said the diplomatic progress was already reflected in the U.S. economy through lower fuel prices and freer flows of oil and gas. He described the meeting as a historic peak in direct contacts between Washington and Tehran and said the administration wanted a more stable and sustainable future for the Middle East. He added that if Iran’s leaders abandoned their nuclear ambitions and destabilizing activities, the United States would be ready for a deep change in relations. His remarks came while the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to non-Iranian ships, while Iranian vessels were still moving through it freely.
