US and Iran open Swiss peace talks under shadow of Hormuz closure and Lebanon strikes

A fragile start above Lake Lucerne

US Vice President JD Vance landed at Emmen air base early on 21 June, hours after an Iranian delegation arrived in Zurich, to open the first round of talks on turning a week-old memorandum of understanding into a definitive peace accord. The venue is a luxury hotel in Bürgenstock, overlooking Lake Lucerne. Vance is joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump. The Iranian team is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati also present.

Mediation and the 60-day clock

Pakistan and Qatar are steering the process. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Asim Munir, and Qatar's prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, are all at Bürgenstock. The MoU signed on 18 June between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sets a 60-day window to settle details of a permanent agreement, including Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief, and oil exports. Yet Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei signalled low expectations, telling reporters the trip was meant to demand that the US fulfil its commitments and that broader talks cannot start until the Lebanon ceasefire holds.

Hormuz as leverage

On Saturday Iran announced it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly one fifth of global oil and gas trade, in retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon that killed at least 20 people. The US Central Command contested the claim, stating that 55 merchant vessels carrying 17 million barrels of oil transited the strait on Saturday and that American forces would keep the waterway open. Iran's Fars news agency, citing a military source, insisted the Revolutionary Guard Navy was denying passage to all vessels until further notice. Vance said before departing that millions of barrels had moved through the strait in recent days.

Lebanon cloud over the table

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that there are no restrictions on Israeli soldiers eliminating threats in Lebanon and that troops will stay in what Israel calls a security zone. Tehran says without a halt to those operations the entire MoU is at risk.

“If any part of these understandings, any part of these commitments, is not implemented, then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be at risk.”

What comes next

Vance told reporters he expected to spend one or two days at the resort and hoped for progress on the nuclear file and the Lebanon ceasefire. The Iranian delegation has signalled that technical negotiations are not yet underway and that the US must first prove its willingness to honour the existing commitments. The talks opened with the agenda still fluid, shaped by events on the ground in Lebanon and the disputed status of the Strait of Hormuz.