JD Vance headed to Switzerland for peace talks after Iran 'shut Strait of Hormuz'

Also representing the White House are envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Switzerland on Saturday morning.

Talks are expected to go ahead, despite Iran declaring it had again shut down the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows through.

Mr Vance told reporters he expected talks to last a "couple days", adding he would stay for "a day or two".

"I think we're going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue," he added.

Iran will be represented by Tehran's lead negotiator IRGC General Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Mediating the high-stakes meeting are the Prime Ministers of Pakistan, its top general, and the Prime Minister of Qatar.

JD Vance said he expected talks in Switzerland to last for a 'couple days'

GETTY

This initial round of talks were aimed at "getting the actual structure and negotiation in place", Mr Vance added.

Two regional sources told Axios the US hopes to end the first round of talks with an Iranian invitation for UN inspectors to visit its nuclear sites.

The last such visit took place before the previous war in June 2025.

The IRGC said Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon had violated US commitments to the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The Vice President said he had not seen evidence Iran had shut the Strait of Hormuz

GETTY

But US Central Command denied the waterway had ever been shut and said 55 merchant ships carrying 17 million barrels of oil had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz.

And Mr Vance said he was confident the ceasefire would be maintained, adding he had not seen evidence the strait had been blockaded.

Before the Vice President boarded his flight to Switzerland, Donald Trump declared there would be "no tolls" in the Strait of Hormuz after the 60 day period, unless they were implemented by the US.

This toll would be for "services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East".

The Switzerland talks mark the first face-to-face meeting since the memorandum of understanding was signed

IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT

A halt in fighting on all fronts - including Lebanon - was key to the MOU and further talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

But Lebanon said 20 people had been killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran would push the US delegation in Switzerland to fulfill its commitments.

Israel has said it would maintain forces in Lebanese territory it occupies.

In a statement, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said it would "continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel and IDF soldiers".