WASHINGTON (TNND) — Vice President Vance traveled to Switzerland on Saturday ahead of a first round of negotiations with Iran expected on Sunday at the Burgenstock ski resort. This upcoming talk will be the first round of direct talks between Iran and the U.S. since the Islamabad summit last April. This will allegedly launch 60 days of nuclear negotiations.
The talks are expected to take place despite Iran claiming on Saturday that it was shutting down the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli ceasefire violations.
“I think 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 think we’re to be focused on,” Vance told reporters on Saturday before leaving Washington. Vance said Saturday that the negotiations will last “a couple of days” and he will stay “for a day or two.”
Vance said the first round is aimed at “getting the actual structure and negotiation in place.” He said that Lebanon could derail the negotiations, but said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is handling de-escalation efforts.
“Despite the headlines, things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit. It’s going to be something we’re just going to have to continuously manage to ensure that Israel and Lebanon are both safe and secure,” Vance said.