Delegations head to Switzerland for US-Iran talks under Islamabad agreement

Parties to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding began departing for Switzerland following the announcement that technical-level talks between Washington and Tehran would be held in Burgenstock.

US Vice President JD Vance departed Washington on Saturday to participate in negotiations with Iranian officials, scheduled for Sunday.

“Vice President JD Vance is wheels up from Washington, D.C., en route to Switzerland,” Luke Schroeder, Vance’s spokesman, wrote on US social media platform X.

Vance previously noted that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are on site addressing “technical elements” of the negotiations. He expressed being “very confident” that Washington and Tehran can sustain the current ceasefire.

Iran’s negotiating delegation arrived in Zurich on Saturday, ahead of the talks, Iranian state broadcaster reported.

The mediator party of the talks, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, will attend the talks.

Sharif, along with a high-level delegation, departed from Islamabad for Switzerland.

An emergency session focused on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has been added to the agenda for the opening day of peace talks in Switzerland, according to a diplomat attending the discussions, who spoke to CBS News.

The issue is expected to be the first item addressed when the US and Iranian delegations begin negotiations.

Israel, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government are not taking part in the Switzerland talks.

The decision to allow Iran to raise the Israel-Hezbollah conflict during the negotiations signals a shift in Washington’s approach.