US Vice President Vance arrives in Switzerland for technical talks with Iran

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to participate in negotiations with Iranian officials after the sides inked a memorandum of understanding last week.

Vance's plane landed at Emmen military airfield, north of the central city of Lucerne, as of 5.59 am local time (0359GMT), according to a spokesperson of the vice president's office. He had departed Washington for the talks on Saturday.

The Pakistan-mediated negotiations are set to take place in Burgenstock, located on the opposite side of Lake Lucerne, under the framework of the memorandum that ended nearly four months of armed conflict in the Middle East, as well as the closure of crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The document, known as the Islamabad Agreement, entered into force after being signed digitally on June 18 by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump.

Vance had previously noted that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already at the site of the talks to address “technical elements” of the negotiations.

He expressed being "very confident" that Washington and Tehran can sustain the current ceasefire.

Diplomatic priorities

Speaking to reporters before boarding his flight, Vance indicated that the Iranian delegation recently arrived in Switzerland and anticipated a “couple days of talks.”

“I think we're going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue,” Vance said, identifying the points as the two primary focus areas for the US team.

Vance acknowledged that Iranian representatives would likely present their own agenda for the discussions.

Addressing concerns that ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon might disrupt the diplomatic process, Vance noted that “things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit.”

Asked what would make this a successful trip, Vance said that “getting things set up in the right way, and getting the actual structure and negotiation in place.”

High-level delegations from Iran, Pakistan

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf​​​​​​​ and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who will lead the Iranian delegation to Switzerland, arrived earlier in Zurich ahead of technical talks, according to state broadcaster reported.

Mediator Pakistan will be represented by a Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, along with a high-level delegation. They had departed from Islamabad for Switzerland the previous night.

* Contributions from Ahmet Salih Alacaci from Washington, DC.