Top US, Iranian and Pakistani leaders arrive in Switzerland for ‘Peace Talks’

US Vice President JD Vance, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for high-level talks aimed at restoring peace in West Asia.

Vance reached Zurich on Sunday morning, while other members of the US negotiating team, including envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, had already arrived.

“My understanding, talking to Jared and Steve this (Saturday) morning, is things are going well,” Vance told Fox News before departing.

According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Ghalibaf is leading the Iranian delegation.

It further said in a report, “Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani, and Central Bank of Iran Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati are also part of the delegation.”

Sharif also landed in Zurich on Sunday along with Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir and other officials.

“Pakistan will continue to facilitate the process in its role as mediator, with a view to advancing the understandings reached under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday.

IRNA reported that Araghchi met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Sunday. Negotiators from Qatar are also expected to participate in the talks.

The diplomatic effort follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed last week by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which opened a 60-day window for negotiations aimed at restoring peace in West Asia. Pakistan signed the agreement as a guarantor.

Technical discussions were scheduled to begin on Friday, but were delayed due to renewed exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Switzerland talks are expected to formally launch negotiations on limiting Iran’s nuclear programme and advancing the interim agreement towards a lasting peace settlement.

The MoU had led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global energy supplies normally pass. However, Iran said on Saturday that it had closed the strategic waterway again, citing an Israeli attack in Lebanon.

Vance maintained that the Gulf shipping route remains open, while Trump warned that the US could impose tolls on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz if a final agreement with Iran is not reached within 60 days.