<\/p>\n
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, gestures as he meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Nathan Howard\/Nathan Howard\/Pool Reuters via A<\/p>\n
From left, US Vice President JD Vance speaks next to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir during a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday June 21, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini\/Keystone via AP)<\/p>\n
Fabrice Coffrini\/Fabrice Coffrini\/Keystone via AP<\/p>\n
Flags of the U.S., Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, Nidwalden and Switzerland, from left, are seen at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler\/Keystone Pool via AP)<\/p>\n
Urs Flueeler\/Urs Flueeler\/Keystone Pool via A<\/p>\n
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Nathan Howard\/Nathan Howard\/Pool Reuters via A<\/p>\n
Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, center, arrives at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, early Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler\/Keystone, Pool via AP)<\/p>\n
Urs Flueeler\/Urs Flueeler\/Keystone via AP<\/p>\n
U.S. and Iranian negotiators were in Switzerland on Sunday for talks on their interim agreement to end the Iran war. Pakistani and Qatari mediators also were there for the technical-level discussions on resolving the conflict that the U.S. and Israel began in late February.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The U.S. team is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. They are meeting with Iranian negotiators led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
On the eve of talks, Tehran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel\u2019s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose American tolls in the strait if a final deal with Iran isn\u2019t reached in 60 days. The interim agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days in the waterway that is vital for the world\u2019s supply of oil, natural gas and related goods like fertilizer.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s president says Iran complicates peace deal with Lebanon<\/p>\n
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News that a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon cannot be reached if Iran is \u201ctrying to squeeze themselves into this conflict\u201d via the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Herzog’s position is largely ceremonial. He said Israel and Lebanon will hold another round of talks in Washington on Tuesday. Hezbollah is not a party to the talks.<\/p>\n
Iran wants any agreement with the U.S. to include peace on all fronts including Lebanon. It has said Lebanon will be a focus in today\u2019s talks in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Iran’s president worries about street protests<\/p>\n
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed concern that some Iranians could openly protest again. He said in a speech reported by semiofficial news outlets that \u201cwhat I fear is that we may fail to satisfy the people, and that they may come out into the streets to protest,” which could affect the country’s unity during negotiations with the U.S.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Iran saw nationwide protests weeks before the war began as unrest over the weak economy turned into anti-government anger. Thousands of people were killed in the crackdown that followed, the bloodiest since Iran\u2019s 1979 Islamic Revolution. For a while, the U.S. and Israel mentioned regime change in Iran among their war goals.<\/p>\n
U.S. energy secretary says ships still pass through the strait<\/p>\n
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says 67 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, similar to traffic before the war began in terms of oil and oil products.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s joint military command on Saturday said it had closed the strait over Israel\u2019s military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. The U.S. disputed that announcement.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Wright also told Fox News that Iran has not yet \u201cdemined\u201d the strait\u2019s central shipping channel, but the U.S. has opened a separate channel to the south and has been escorting ships through it.<\/p>\n
Wright acknowledged that some commercial shippers still have safety concerns.<\/p>\n
Israel’s military stands by for renewal of combat<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military issued a statement around the time that direct talks began. Its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, was speaking from southern Lebanon. He said \u201cthe ceasefire that has been declared is fragile, and we must maintain a high level of readiness for the renewal of combat operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
He said the military continues to defend against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its efforts to rebuild.<\/p>\n
Previous talks between Vance and Iranian officials lasted nearly a day<\/p>\n
The last time that Vance met directly with senior Iranian officials for such talks was in early April, days after a ceasefire took effect in the war. Those talks in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad ended after 21 hours without reaching an agreement. Again, Vance was meeting with lead negotiator Qalibaf.<\/p>\n
It’s now after 4 p.m. in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Direct U.S.-Iran talks have begun in Switzerland<\/p>\n
Both Iran and the White House say four-way talks have begun in Switzerland. Vance is meeting with Iranian officials.<\/p>\n
Trump hopes to get the agreement signed last week back on track. Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group threatens progress on implementation.<\/p>\n
Iran says its main focus in these talks is the situation in Lebanon. Israel says it must defend itself from Hezbollah. But the U.S. side wants to get Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program, which has long been at the heart of tensions.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Trump warns Iran about Hezbollah<\/p>\n
Trump has warned in a post on social media that Iran needs to stop Hezbollah from \u201ccausing trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
“If they don\u2019t, we\u2019ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!\u201d Trump wrote from Camp David, where he is spending the weekend.<\/p>\n
Vance says that the Mideast is at a turning point <\/p>\n
The U.S. vice president spoke as officials were gathering for the start of the U.S.-Iran talks on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?\u201d Vance said in brief comments ahead of the talks, dubbed the \u201cLake Lucerne Summit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we change relations in the Middle East permanently, or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but is certainly very much something that can happen,\u201d Vance added.<\/p>\n
It was not clear if the Iranians were present during Vance’s remarks.<\/p>\n
Israel says it killed 2 militants in Gaza involved in Hamas\u2019 financial arm<\/p>\n
The Israeli military says it killed two militants who were involved in helping transfer up to half a billion dollars to Hamas. The military says the two \u2014 Hussein Qadra and Mohammed Farra, who worked with Hamas and the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad \u2014 were killed in a strike last week.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
It said on Sunday that the men oversaw a network of couriers and money exchange spots in both Gaza and Turkey that funneled money towards Hamas militants and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Both men were killed on Wednesday and buried on Thursday, according to their families. Farra\u2019s family said his father, mother and sister were killed in an Israeli strike earlier in the war.<\/p>\n
The conflict in Gaza is not part of the U.S-Iran talks underway in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Pakistani team meets separately with US, Iranian delegations<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has separately met with JD Vance and with the Iranian delegation at the B\u00fcrgenstock Resort near Lucerne in Switzerland where the high-level talks are taking place.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Islamabad says Pakistan\u2019s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, accompanied Sharif at the meetings. It did not provide further details.<\/p>\n
Sharif has repeatedly said Munir played a key role in brokering the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n
A video released by Sharif\u2019s office shows him warmly embracing Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, and Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, as Munir looks on.<\/p>\n
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog is also at the scene of the talks<\/p>\n
Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog \u2014 the International Atomic Energy Agency \u2014 met with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on the sidelines of the gathering at the picturesque mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The agency had monitored the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between the U.S. and Iran under the Obama administration.<\/p>\n
Trump in 2018 withdrew the U.S. from that agreement.<\/p>\n
Talks in Switzerland will focus on the Israel-Hezbollah war, Iran says<\/p>\n
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei says Tehran will mainly focus during the talks on Sunday on the ongoing fighting in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Tehran insists that the deal\u2019s implementation start with a cessation of all fighting \u2014 including between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Baghaei said the U.S. \u201chas been unable or unwilling\u201d to hold Israel to the ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Iran will meet in the morning with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, and in the afternoon, there will be a four-way meeting including the U.S. negotiating team. There is currently only one day of negotiations planned, Baghaei told the state news agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe implementation of any document is more important than its signing,\u201d Baghaei also said Sunday.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s president has said that Iran will maintain its right to a nuclear program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat 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,\u201d Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to state media.<\/p>\n
A temporary lull in Israeli strikes in Lebanon<\/p>\n
As the U.S.-Iran talks were to kick off in Switzerland, a ceasefire appears to be holding in Lebanon, a lull that came after another day of heavy fighting.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Since the ceasefire, Israeli strikes on Friday and Saturday killed 97 people, including eight women and four children, Lebanese officials said. Five Israeli soldiers were also killed.<\/p>\n
Israel says it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure on Saturday, including a tunnel network in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit.<\/p>\n
But by Sunday morning, residents in southern Lebanon reported a lull in Israeli strikes. There also were no reports of Hezbollah fire from the Israeli side.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military has received instructions to uphold the ceasefire, and said it is only acting defensively, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u2014Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel<\/p>\n
Pakistani mediators also in place in Switzerland<\/p>\n
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir are also in Switzerland for the high-level U.S.-Iran talks, the prime minister’s office said without providing further details.<\/p>\n
The technical-level talks at B\u00fcrgenstock Resort near the Swiss city of Lucerne are being held after Sharif dispatched his special envoy, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, to Tehran to persuade Iranian authorities to send a delegation to Switzerland. The meeting was originally scheduled for Friday but was delayed because of concerns raised by Iran.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Naqvi later informed Islamabad that Iran was willing to attend the talks. Pakistan subsequently conveyed the development to Washington.<\/p>\n
Strait of Hormuz is once again a challenge<\/p>\n
The strait has emerged as a key focus, with Iran\u2019s joint military command saying on Saturday that it was closed again because of the U.S. \u201cclear breach of its commitments\u201d by failing to end the war. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon where Israeli forces are battling the militant Hezbollah group.<\/p>\n
The U.S. disputed Iran\u2019s announcement, with the U.S. Central Command saying that traffic continues to flow and that 55 merchant ships transited on Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed last week. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran\u2019s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely \u2014 terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it.<\/p>\n
The interim deal signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but the time can be extended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Vice President JD Vance, gestures as he meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[5424,44857,11335,45098,18,11340,11664,45095,1759,3188,45099,1731,4419,2247,42348,5421,45097,12704,45096,25937,27927,27921,45100,43255,7033,42985,4417,17,45094],"class_list":["post-89092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-abbas-araghchi","tag-asim-munir","tag-barack-obama","tag-christopher-wright","tag-donald-trump","tag-esmail-baghaei","tag-eyal-zamir","tag-hussein-qadra","tag-ignazio-cassis","tag-iran","tag-isaac-herzog","tag-israel","tag-jared-kushner","tag-jd-vance","tag-lebanon","tag-masoud-pezeshkian","tag-melanie-lidman","tag-mohammad-bagher-qalibaf","tag-mohammed-farra","tag-package-100024-ap-online","tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","tag-product-31998-ap-online-national-news","tag-product-46986-ap-online-top-stories","tag-rafael-grossi","tag-shehbaz-sharif","tag-steve-witkoff","tag-switzerland","tag-us-iran-talks-vance-trump-latest-21-june-2026"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}