US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Washington was prepared to “fundamentally transform” its long-strained ties with Tehran if Iran gives up its role as a “driver of regional instability” and abandons any long-term nuclear weapons ambitions, even as President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to Iran over its proxies in Lebanon.
Speaking in Switzerland, where high-stakes US-Iran technical talks are underway, Vance said Trump had directed his team to “turn over a new leaf” in relations with the Iranian people.
“What the President has asked us to do is turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran,” Vance said, adding that the US was extending “an outstretched hand” if Tehran’s leadership was willing to change course. “That is certainly our goal.”
Vance described the talks as historic, saying, “Never before has the Iranian and American leadership met at such a high level.” He said negotiators had already made “great progress” in recent hours and expected further movement as technical discussions continued.
The talks at the Burgenstock resort are being conducted under a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding finalised on June 17 by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The framework gives both sides a 60-day window to address disputes over regional security, Iran’s nuclear programme, maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz, and ceasefire arrangements across West Asia.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the talks had formally begun with joint mediation by Doha and Islamabad. It said specialised technical and expert groups had been formed to negotiate the terms of a final agreement, while follow-up and monitoring bodies would oversee implementation of the MoU and track progress.
Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to join US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were already at the venue. The Iranian delegation includes parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with officials from Iran’s central bank and oil ministry, according to Iranian state television.
However, the diplomatic push remains fragile. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, warned Tehran to “immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble”, adding that if Iran failed to do so, the US would “hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder”.
Vance acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining truces in such a volatile environment, saying ceasefires were often “a little bit messy”. Still, he said there had been “great progress” in ensuring that the ceasefire in Lebanon holds.
Iran, however, has reportedly refused to move into the next phase of talks unless Israeli military operations in Lebanon cease entirely. Tehran has also pressed for immediate economic relief and financial commitments promised under earlier understandings.
The Strait of Hormuz remains another major flashpoint. The waterway, which carries nearly 20 per cent of global energy supplies under normal conditions, had reportedly reopened after the MoU was finalised. Tehran later claimed it had shut the route again following an Israeli strike in Lebanon, while the US maintains that the maritime corridor remains open.
Despite the tensions, Vance said the talks offered a rare chance to reshape regional relations. “The question is whether we can change relations in the Middle East permanently,” he said, adding that Trump had empowered his team “to find a diplomatic solution to a host of issues”.
