Published: 12:55 AM, 22 June 2026
US and Iran begin talks on initial peace deal in Switzerland
US Vice President JD Vance reacts as he waits to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Buergenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, near Stansstad, Switzerland, June 21, 2026. - Reuters
US and Iranian officials have arrived in Switzerland for direct talks after signing an initial agreement to end the war last week.
The deal includes a commitment to reach a final agreement within 60 days, as well as an end to hostilities on "all fronts" - including in Lebanon - and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
But ongoing clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon prompted Iran to announce it had shut the vital shipping route on Saturday - though tracking data shows vessels have continued to pass through it.
Vice-President JD Vance said the US hoped for progress on "the nuclear issue" and Lebanon, while Tehran said it would be "demanding that the other side fulfil its commitments".
Vance was joined at the Bürgenstock mountaintop resort by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
For the Iranians, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Switzerland late on Saturday. The delegations were joined by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the head of the country's armed forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war, and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran.
The US and Iranian presidents signed the initial agreement earlier this week, aiming to end the war with immediate effect.
It also included a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on it.
But the issue of Iran's nuclear programme, the main reason stated by the US for the conflict, is still to be negotiated over an extendable 60-day period.
Deadly clashes have meanwhile continued between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia, despite the deal and a ceasefire the two sides agreed on Friday.
Israel has insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah is separate from the war on Iran, which it mounted alongside the US on 28 February.
Lebanon was drawn into the war shortly afterwards, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south - hoping to drive back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border - and has said it has no intention of withdrawing.
VANCE HOPES FOR PROGRESS:
The memorandum of understanding foresees 60 days of talks on issues such as curbing Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions. Iran is already expected to receive initial economic benefits, such as sanctions waivers and the unfreezing of blocked assets.
Vance leads the US delegation, opposite Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf. They previously met at the only known face-to-face talks so far, more than two months ago.
"I think we're going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue," with a "couple days of talks" likely, Vance told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before departing.
On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, accusing Israel of "crimes" in Lebanon that violated US commitments to the ceasefire, said ships would be at risk if they approached the Strait, which carried a fifth of global oil supplies before the US and Israel launched attacks on February 28.
Ceasefires have been repeatedly announced in Lebanon, most recently on Friday, but appear to have had little impact so far on the fighting there, with more than a million people driven from their homes by Israel's invasion.
AUTHORITIES SAY 20 KILLED IN LEBANON ON SATURDAY:
Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon saw rescuers on Saturday carrying wounded at the sites of Israeli attacks, which have reduced swathes of Lebanese towns and villages to ruins of concrete rubble that residents say resemble the Gaza Strip. Lebanese authorities say 20 people were killed on Saturday.
The army said on Sunday that specialised units were still working to dismantle unexploded Israeli bombs weighing 1,000 and 2,000 pounds that had been dropped on southern towns. The army had opened some roads, but urged residents to delay returning to border villages and to follow instructions from soldiers to ensure safety amid ongoing Israeli attacks.
Trump's memorandum to end the war, which he jointly launched alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, is deeply unpopular in Israel, which did not participate in the peace talks.
Netanyahu's government says it will not withdraw from a swathe of Lebanon it seized after Hezbollah fighters fired across the border into Israel in solidarity with Tehran.
The Iranian delegation at the talks includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as well as senior security, central bank and oil officials, Iranian media said. In addition to Vance, the US negotiating team includes envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
NONE OF WAR OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED:
Pakistan said its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, had arrived to join the talks at the resort, where helicopters hovered overhead.
In an interview with Fox News before leaving the United States, Vance said he was confident the ceasefire would hold and he had seen no evidence of the Strait of Hormuz being closed.
After Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in February, they said their aims were to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, halt its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles and proxy forces, and make it possible for Iranians to topple the government.
None of those objectives has been achieved, although US officials say they inflicted severe damage on Iran's military and still expect a strong agreement that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
A poll by Israel's Hebrew University, provided to Reuters, showed about 92 percent of Israelis believe Iran benefited more than Israel from the joint Israeli-US military campaign, while just 8 percent see Israel as having emerged victorious.
Almost 90 percent of Israelis said war goals had not been met and fewer than 30 percent believe Netanyahu's claims of major achievements.
>>Agency
