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U.S. and Iran Begin Technical Talks in Switzerland

Negotiators aim to convert a 14‑point memorandum into binding agreements within a 60‑day window to reopen shipping, to settle nuclear verification, to release frozen assets.

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A convoy next to a plane after it landed, carrying an Iranian delegation led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, at the Zurich International Airport in Zurich, Switzerland, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Overview

  • Negotiators from the United States and Iran arrived in Switzerland on Saturday to start technical talks tasked with turning the interim memorandum into binding pacts within a 60‑day window.
  • Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz but U.S. Central Command reported 55 merchant ships carrying more than 17 million barrels transited the waterway and said U.S. forces will monitor and protect commercial traffic.
  • Vice President J.D. Vance flew to Switzerland to join envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff while Iran's delegation is led by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Abbas Araghchi and Pakistani and Qatari mediators are set to oversee the technical sessions.
  • Negotiators must resolve detailed sequencing problems that include on‑site nuclear verification and IAEA access, phased sanctions relief, and the amounts and conditions for releasing frozen Iranian assets.
  • The process is immediately fragile because renewed Israeli‑Hezbollah strikes in Lebanon threaten the ceasefire and President Trump has warned the U.S. could impose tolls on Hormuz if talks collapse, a move that could drive oil‑market volatility and worsen civilian hardship.