Vance in Switzerland for Iran Nuclear Talks Amid Hormuz Closure Claims
U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to formally launch negotiations with Iranian leaders over curbing Tehran's nuclear programme and finalising an interim deal to end the war in Iran. The framework was signed last week, and negotiators now face a 60-day sprint to agree on technical details with major implications for global security and the world economy.
The talks, however, were complicated by heavy exchanges of fire in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, and Iran's announcement that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz—a vital waterway for a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas. U.S. Central Command disputed Iran's claim, stating that traffic continued to flow through the strait. Mr. Vance himself noted that millions of barrels of oil had moved through in recent days.
Mr. Vance had originally been scheduled to attend on Friday, but his departure was delayed after fighting in Lebanon escalated and Iranian officials cancelled plans. He left the U.S. just after Iranian state TV reported that Tehran's negotiators—including parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi—had arrived in Switzerland.
The U.S. delegation also includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, who have already begun sifting through technical details. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Qatari mediators are also participating. Mr. Vance plans to stay for only a day or two, leaving detailed negotiations to Witkoff and Kushner, but his role heightens scrutiny as he considers a 2028 presidential campaign.
The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Republican hard-liners, who compare it unfavourably to the Obama-era nuclear agreement that Mr. Trump and the GOP condemned as ineffective. The agreement signed by Mr. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Iran to sell its oil freely and access billions in frozen assets. It also requires Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed buried under nuclear sites targeted in U.S. strikes last summer.
The agreement permits commercial vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without charges, but does not preclude future fees. Mr. Trump threatened on Saturday to impose U.S. tolls on the strait if no deal is reached in 60 days, calling them payment for 'services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the West Asia.'
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep forces in southern Lebanon until threats are eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel withdraws. Fighting in the days after the U.S.-Iran agreement killed 47 people in Lebanon and four in Israel.
