Vance leaves for Switzerland with Strait of Hormuz status unclear

Administration Vance leaves for Switzerland with Strait of Hormuz status unclear Comments: by Sophie Brams - 06/20/26 5:41 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sophie Brams - 06/20/26 5:41 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Vice President JD Vance departed for Switzerland on Saturday ahead of technical-level talks on an interim ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran that aims to permanently halt fighting, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear negotiations.

The discussions were initially scheduled to begin on Friday but were delayed due to an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that threatened to upend the fragile U.S.-Iranian ceasefire.

Vance is set to lead a delegation that includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The vice president said during a Fox News interview on Saturday morning that Witkoff and Kushner had already been on the ground in Europe for several hours “dealing with some of the technical elements” of the impending negotiations and that “things are going well.”

The 14-point memorandum of understanding signed electronically earlier this week extends the ceasefire between the two countries by 60 days and establishes a framework for broader talks to resolve remaining sticking points, including Tehran’s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The talks come as the U.S. and Iran offer different accounts over whether the Strait of Hormuz is fully open to commercial shipping traffic. The U.S. says it is, while Iran’s top military command said on Saturday that it was once again closed.

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