Washington: US Vice President JD Vance departed for Switzerland, expressing hope that upcoming talks with Iran would advance negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and help preserve a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, even as renewed violence in the region threatened broader diplomatic efforts.
Speaking to reporters before boarding his aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Vance said his understanding was that Iranian negotiators had already arrived in Switzerland and that discussions would likely continue for several days.
“I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re to be focused on. I’m sure the Iranians are going to have issues they’d like to discuss as well,” Vance said.
The Vice President and Second Lady Usha Vance departed at 4:19 p.m. Eastern Time aboard a Gulfstream C-37, a smaller aircraft than the one typically used for vice-presidential travel. A spokesman said the aircraft was used because it was available more quickly than the Vice President’s usual plane.
The Switzerland talks are expected to take place near Lucerne and come after a delayed start to the diplomatic process. According to Vance, technical negotiators from multiple parties were already on the ground ahead of the meetings.
“Look, we’ll have a couple days of talks to try to get this thing kicked off the right way. There’s a lot to discuss, but we’re going to get through it all,” he said.
The Vice President indicated that one of his primary objectives would be establishing the framework for future negotiations.
“I think number one, just getting things set up in the right way, and getting the actual structure and negotiation in place,” he said. “I can only be there for a day or two.”
Questions about continuing clashes in Lebanon featured prominently during the exchange with reporters. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has repeatedly threatened diplomatic momentum in recent weeks and remains a major concern for Washington as it seeks broader regional stability.
Vance sought to project cautious optimism.
“Despite the headlines, things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit,” he said.
He credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the broader diplomatic team with managing the situation while acknowledging the difficulty of maintaining a ceasefire.
“It’s going to be something we’re just going to have to continuously manage to ensure that you know Israel and Lebanon are both safe and secure. That’s fundamentally the goal of this, to make the whole region safe and secure,” Vance said.
Describing the cycle of violence, he added: “The big problem is that you have somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond, and you kind of have a chicken and egg problem where you’ve just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to keep hold, that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
The talks in Switzerland are expected to focus on technical and political issues related to the US-Iran diplomatic track, with Lebanon’s ceasefire situation emerging as a parallel challenge. Vance said both matters would be central to the discussions.
–IANS
