VP JD Vance Departs For Switzerland To Hold Peace Talks With Iranian Officials

Hopefully Vice President JD Vance bring his A game.

Vice President JD Vance has departed for Switzerland where he is scheduled to participate in peace talks with Iranian officials.

Pakistan and Qatar officials will also be in Switzerland where they will play a role as mediators.

The meeting comes a week after President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a MOU to end the military conflict between the United States and Iran.

CBS News reported more on Vance’s upcoming meetings with the Iranians in Switzerland:

Vice President JD Vance has departed for Switzerland, where he will take part in direct long-term peace talks with Iran.

Vance left from Joint Base Andrews on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to his departure, he told reporters he would be in Switzerland for “a day or two,” but that technical teams would remain there after that. Vance said the Iranian delegation had just landed in Switzerland.

“Looking forward to starting the technical talks with the Iranians, the Pakistanis, and the Qataris,” Vance said. Qatar and Pakistan have served as mediators between the U.S. and Iran throughout the war.

“I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue,” Vance said. “Those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on.”

Vance had initially been slated to depart for Switzerland on Thursday, but at the last minute, his trip was postponed.

At the time, a White House spokesperson said “the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable.”

Here was Vance shortly before departing for Switzerland:

.@VP departs for Switzerland: "I'm looking forward to starting the technical talks with the Iranians, the Pakistanis, and the Qataris… 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… pic.twitter.com/4VXp0ANgJU

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 20, 2026

The New York Times revealed who will be negotiating on behalf of Iran:

Iranian state media reported on Saturday that Tehran’s delegation was led by Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s lead negotiator in past talks and the speaker of Iran’s parliament. He is joined by Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and Esmail Baghaei, the foreign ministry’s spokesman, among other officials, state media said.

The discussions come at a delicate time. The next phase of U.S.-Iranian talks was scheduled to start on Friday, but it was postponed after continued clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tehran said the Israeli strikes violated the memorandum of understanding, and Iran’s military went further on Saturday, claiming to close the Strait of Hormuz in response.

There are many other thorny questions that could be discussed during negotiations. President Trump’s interim agreement with Iran punted the future of Iran’s nuclear program to future talks, did not address Iran’s missile program and failed to resolve whether the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial maritime trade route off southern Iran, would remain open for free passage.

But Mr. Baghaei told state media on Saturday that the trip was intended to “follow up on the implementation of the other side’s commitments,” and warned that “negotiations on a final agreement” would begin only when Iran believes the United States is upholding the deal.

Here’s the moment Iranian negotiators arrived:

Iranian negotiators have arrived in Zurich for talks with the US as their nascent agreement threatens to fall apart over Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lead the delegation. pic.twitter.com/xPS1di2fMo

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 20, 2026