OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� U.S. Vice President and senior Iranian officials arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to formally launch negotiations over and build out the in Iran.
The framework was signed last week, and now top U.S. and Iranian negotiators are in a on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.
Yet only days after signing the agreement, it鈥檚 being stress-tested after fighting escalated in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah 鈥� and by the that it had closed the , the vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world鈥檚 traded oil and natural gas.
Separate meetings kick off first
Vance first sat down for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, who has served as a key intermediary between the United States and Iran throughout the conflict.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 up man! Good to see you,鈥� Vance said to Munir, who serves as his country’s Army chief, after delegations from the U.S. and Iran, as well as mediators Pakistan and Qatar, arrived at the picturesque mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne on Sunday morning.
Iran鈥檚 main focus during negotiations on Sunday will be the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran鈥檚 state news agency on Sunday.
Iran is insisting that the deal鈥檚 implementation start with the part of the deal that calls for a cessation of all wars, including between Israel and Hezbollah. Baghaei said the U.S. 鈥渉as been unable or unwilling鈥� to hold .
Iranian officials were to hold their own meetings with Pakistani and Qatari mediators before a planned four-way meeting including the U.S. negotiating team.
Iran is cautiously approaching the negotiations given its previous experience with the U.S. negotiations on the nuclear issue, which twice in the past year have been interrupted by massive strikes against the country. 鈥淭he implementation of any document is more important than its signing,鈥� Baghaei said Sunday.
But Iran鈥檚 president added that Iran will maintain its right to a nuclear program.
鈥淲hat is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,鈥� Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to Iran鈥檚 state media.
A meeting delayed is now back on
Vance had originally been slated to be on the ground at the picturesque B眉rgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but after fighting escalated in Lebanon and Iranian officials canceled plans to attend the talks.
U.S. Central Command disputed Iran鈥檚 claim that it had once again shuttered the strait and said U.S. forces continued to monitor the situation to ensure traffic continues to flow through the waterway. Vance has said that in recent days.
Vance departed the U.S. just after Iranian state TV said Iran鈥檚 negotiators had arrived in Switzerland. Tehran鈥檚 negotiators include parliamentary speaker and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with central bank and oil officials.
The vice president by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, for Sunday’s talks. Witkoff and Kushner were the ground in Switzerland ahead of Vance to begin sifting through the technical details of the nuclear talks.
Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, arrived at Emmen Air Base outside Lucerne just before 6 a.m. local time, according to his office.
While Vance said he planned to be in Switzerland for just 鈥渁 day or two,鈥� leaving much of the detailed negotiations to be spearheaded by Witkoff and Kushner, his role in the talks has at a time when he鈥檚 actively considering a 2028 presidential campaign.
The deal has stirred much controversy
Trump and Vance have come under for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to a nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and the GOP have insisted did nothing to actually terminate Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.
The immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. It also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes last summer.
The agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without a charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat on Saturday to levy U.S. tolls on the strait if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting in a social media post that the money would be for 鈥渟ervices rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.鈥�
The Trump administration has been working to reassure global markets that the Iran war has been merely a blip on oil prices, as Americans have complained the conflict resulted in hiking gasoline prices ahead of peak summer travel months. After the White House announced the deal a week ago, oil futures dropped almost 8% 鈥� and markets are expected to closely track the progress of talks when they open for trading on Sunday evening.
Further complicating matters, neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the deal between the U.S. and Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the initial days after the agreement between the U.S. and Iran killed 47 people in Lebanon, as well as four Israeli soldiers.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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