Vance meets top Iranian officials as U.S. looks to get negotiations back on track

By — Aamer Madhani, Associated Press Aamer Madhani, Associated Press By — Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Seung Min Kim, Associated Press By — Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/vance-meets-top-iranian-officials-as-u-s-looks-to-get-negotiations-back-on-track Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Vance meets top Iranian officials as U.S. looks to get negotiations back on track World Jun 21, 2026 11:28 AM EDT OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Sunday there was an opportunity to "turn over a new leaf" with Iran as the sides launched talks aimed at building out the interim deal to end the war in Iran reached by the two sides last week. Vance is holding talks with Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, at a Swiss mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar were also in the room for the direct engagement. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The U.S. is looking to get Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Iran denies. Vance also wants to push Tehran to commit to keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which about a fifth of world traded oil passes. But the on-again, off-again conflict in Lebanon, between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants, continues to threaten to derail the effort for the U.S. to win concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program and keep the Strait of Hormuz open. "The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?" Vance said in brief comments as the talks, dubbed the "Lake Lucerne Summit," got underway. "Can 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." Iran first wants to focus on Israeli strikes in Lebanon Iran's main focus during negotiations on Sunday would be the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran's state news agency ahead of the meeting with Vance. The interim agreement was signed last week, and now top American and Iranian negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security. READ MORE: U.S. and Iran to talk Sunday in Switzerland as Tehran says it closed Strait of Hormuz again Yet only days after signing the agreement, it is being stress-tested after fighting escalated in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah — and by the subsequent announcement by Iran's military that it had again closed the vital