US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Saturday evening for a two-day visit, saying he hopes to see progress on both the Iran nuclear file and a ceasefire in Lebanon. Iran's foreign minister is already in the country, and mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, as well as IAEA chief Grossi, are expected to take part, according to Amichai Stein (i24NEWS).
US Vice President JD Vance landed in Switzerland on Saturday evening, confirming that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will join the nuclear talks, according to Amichai Stein (i24NEWS). The arrival, reported at 23:40 Jerusalem, caps a day of rapid reversals: at 16:11 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Vance had departed Washington after earlier saying talks were 'progressing well,' reversing a White House cancellation on Friday. By 17:59 Jerusalem, CNN cited Vance would travel later Saturday. Now on the ground, Vance said he hopes for progress on both the Iran nuclear file and a ceasefire in Lebanon, adding 'things are improving — even calming down' on the latter front. Iran's foreign minister is already in Switzerland; mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, as well as Grossi, are expected to participate.
The thread opened at 16:11 Jerusalem Saturday with Vance's statement that talks with Iran were 'progressing well' and he would travel 'in the coming days.' Within hours, CNN reported he would depart later that day, followed by a single-source confirmation of his departure. The Zioneer reported at 14:31 Jerusalem that envoy Steve Witkoff had already landed in Switzerland and that Jared Kushner and Iran's foreign minister were expected. The nuclear talks, originally set to culminate in an 'Islamabad Agreement' signing in Geneva, suffered a setback Friday when Iran suspended its delegation's travel, blaming ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon — a condition Tehran publicly tied to the nuclear track.
As The Zioneer reported on Friday at 07:01 Jerusalem, Vance also postponed his trip, with Iran citing IDF strikes in Lebanon. Earlier Thursday at 21:24 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Grossi would join the talks, with the IAEA expected to play a key role in diluting enriched uranium per a memorandum of understanding. Background coverage from Saturday at 02:00 Jerusalem noted Witkoff and Kushner heading to Switzerland to salvage the talks, and at 02:03 Jerusalem that Qatar's PM had arrived.
What remains open: whether Iran will proceed with a full delegation given its stated condition on a Lebanon ceasefire — the FM is in Switzerland, but the delegation's travel was suspended Friday. The status of the 'Islamabad Agreement' signing and whether President Trump might attend, as Vance had suggested earlier, also remain unconfirmed.
9 developments
- DevelopingIran names full delegation for Friday talks in Switzerland with Vance leading US team
- StrongIran confirms it will attend Switzerland talks, demands US enforce halt to Israeli Lebanon strikes
- DevelopingSwiss ministry: delegations from Iran, US, Qatar, Pakistan to meet Friday at Bürgenstock for preliminary talks on deal implementation
- StrongIran names parliament speaker Qalibaf to lead delegation for Friday MOU signing in Switzerland
Source and signal
- Internal intake