The Latest: Vance and Iranian negotiators are in Switzerland to work on details of deal

The Latest: Vance and Iranian negotiators are in Switzerland to work on details of deal 0 seconds of 31 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 00:00 00:31 00:31 More Videos 01:01 Vance and Iranian officials arrive in Switzerland to launch talks on Tehran’s nuclear program 01:02 Vance defends unwritten ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with Iran 01:25 Trump says Iran deal will 'fully open' Strait of Hormuz 'toll-free' by Friday 01:23 Expert says a finalized US-Iran deal to open Strait of Hormuz could lower gas prices 01:50 Vance touts Trump's Iran deal as a 'win' that's 'already bearing real fruits' 00:48 Iranians in Tehran react to signing of initial agreement with US 01:32 Trump unveils new Air Force One, says ships are 'pouring out' Strait of Hormuz 00:54 Trump says he 'might' stay in Europe for Iran deal signing, quips Vance gets the blame if it fails Close 1 of 6 | U.S. and Iranian negotiators headed to a Swiss venue Saturday for talks on adding key details to their interim agreement to halt the war, hours after Tehran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and warned that little might be achieved if the fighting doesn’t stop. 2 of 6 | 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 Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP) 3 of 6 | 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) 4 of 6 | U.S. Vice President JD Vance waits, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, to meet with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP) 5 of 6 | 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 Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP) 6 of 6 | 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) By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Updated 1:42 PM MESZ, June 21, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit 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 were also at the scene for the technical-level discussions on resolving the conflict that began in late February. The U.S. team is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. They will meet with Iranian negotiators led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. On the eve of the talks, Tehran announced it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon. The interim deal between the U.S. and Iran is meant to stop fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as calling for billions of dollars of Iran’s assets to be unfrozen. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose American tolls in the strait if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days. The interim agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days in the waterway that is vital for the world’s oil supply. Pakistani team meets separately with US, Iranian delegations Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has separately met with JD Vance and with the Iranian delegation at the Bürgenstock Resort near Lucerne in Switzerland where the high-level talks are taking place. Islamabad says Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, accompanied Sharif at the meetings. It did not provide further details. Sharif has repeatedly said Munir played a key role in brokering the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. A video released by Sharif’s office shows him warmly embracing Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, and Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, as Munir looks on. Vance and Iranian officials arrive in Switzerland to launch talks on Tehran’s nuclear program 5 MIN READ 172 US military says it intercepted Iranian attacks on 3 Navy ships in Strait of Hormuz 6 MIN READ 1133 US Navy seizes an Iranian-flagged ship near Strait of Hormuz and Tehran vows swift response 5 MIN READ 1600 The head of the UN nuclear watchdog is also at the scene of the talks Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — met with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on the sidelines of the gathering at the picturesque mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne on Sunday morning. The agency had monitored the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between the U.S. and Iran under the Obama administration. Trump in 2018 withdrew the U.S. from that agreement. Talks in Switzerland will focus on the Israel-Hezbollah war, Iran says Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei says Tehran will mainly focus during the talks on Sunday on the ongoing fighting in Lebanon. Tehran insists that the deal’s implementation start with a cessation of all fighting — including between Israel and Hezbollah. Baghaei said the U.S. “has been unable or unwilling” to hold Israel to the ceasefire. 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. “The implementation of any document is more important than its signing,” Baghaei also said Sunday. Iran’s president has said that Iran will maintain its right to a nuclear program. “What 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,” Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to state media. 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. 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. Israel says it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure on Saturday, including a tunnel network in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit. 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. Israel’s 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. 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. The technical-level talks at Bürgenstock 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. Naqvi later informed Islamabad that Iran was willing to attend the talks. Pakistan subsequently conveyed the development to Washington. The strait has emerged as a key focus, with Iran’s joint military command saying on Saturday that it was closed again because of the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” 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. The U.S. disputed Iran’s 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. Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed last week. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely — terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it. 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.