US vice president JD Vance has landed in Switzerland this morning to help formally launch Washington’s negotiations with Iranian leaders over curbing Tehran’s nuclear program and building out the fragile interim deal to end the war in Iran.Tehran’s negotiators, including parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, along with central bank and oil officials, are already in the Swiss city of Zurich.The talks will kickstart at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex in Switzerland shortly.This comes as US president Donald Trump has threatened to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz if the deal with Iran is not completed.Iran said it would close the crucial waterway to tankers, citing alleged violations of the ceasefire by the US and Israel.The US military had said that traffic continued to flow through the Strait and the US is monitoring the situation to ensure that continues.But Trump took to social media to insist that there should be no tolls during the cease fire period “unless they are imposed by and for” the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel” to the Middle East.Pakistan PM and army chief to participate in technical-level talks in Switzerland todayPakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will participate in the technical-level talks being held in Burgenstock, Switzerland on 21 June, the PM's office announced yesterday.The ⁠country's foreign ministry said US and Iranian representatives would participate in ‌the meeting, ​along with ‌mediators from ⁠Pakistan and ⁠Qatar.It added that Sharif will also meet separately with each delegation from Iran, Switzerland and the United States “to reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region”.Arpan Rai21 June 2026 08:00Democrats says US-Iran MoU 'already falling apart'The Democrats are condemning the visible breaking points of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.Johnny Olszewski, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said Trump’s “war of choice” was a “disaster”.“The dressed up ceasefire masquerading as a ‘deal’ is already falling apart,” he wrote in a post on X. “Americans deserve better.”Pramila Jayapal, another Democratic member of Congress, underlined the cost of the war on Iran and said Republicans had cut Medicare, a US health programme, to fund this conflict.“They are not confused about what we want. They just work for someone else,” Jayapal said.Arpan Rai21 June 2026 07:45Arpan Rai21 June 2026 07:30Key agreements between US-Iran to end the warThe agreement signed by Donald Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil more freely and includes sanctions-relief measures. The deal paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. It also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in US strikes last summer. The agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without a charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat on Saturday to levy US tolls on the strait if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting in a social media post that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East”. Arpan Rai21 June 2026 07:16In photos: Vance's convoy reaches the Swiss venue for peace talks with TehranThe motorcade transporting US vice president JD Vance arrives at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland ahead of high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict (AFP/Getty)The motorcade transporting Vance arrives at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex (AFP/Getty)A view of the media center at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland (AP)Flags of Switzerland, United States, Qatar, Pakistan and local Swiss canton of Nidwalden are photographed at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne (AFP/Getty)Police officers stand next to a building at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland where peace talks are set to begin shortly (AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai21 June 2026 07:05Why Fifa has banned Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag at World CupIranian Americans initiated protests at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles before Iran’s World Cup 2026 opener against New Zealand and others displayed the banned pre-revolutionary flag despite Fifa’s ban being upheld.Some had called on Iranians to unite and forget politics ⁠but others displayed symbols of protest against the government.The World Cup 2026 has left fans split, with some excited to see their team play football on the biggest stage of the sport, though others remain overwhelmingly angry at Tehran's crackdown on protesters, with concern over Washington's bombing campaign.Some Iranians have stayed away from the match with the belief that attending the Group G match would serve as support for Iran's government.Read more here:Arpan Rai21 June 2026 06:44Fighting persists in Lebanon threatening progress in US-Iran peace talksIsraeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least seven people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.Lebanon’s National News Agency said the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. At least seven people remained trapped under the rubble, it said.Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there. The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations.Arpan Rai21 June 2026 06:40Netanyahu will try and undermine Trump’s Iran peace plan: reportIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely try to undermine Donald Trump’s deal with Iran, US intelligence officials have reportedly warned the administration.Current and former US officials told The Washington Post Netanyahu is intent on continuing operations in Lebanon despite an agreement signed by president Trump earlier this week.The Israeli leader is facing intense political pressure to continue the conflict, that has run in parallel to the joint attacks on Iran he launched alongside the United States in February.But continued strikes in Lebanon - the latest of which left 16 dead on Saturday - risk deepening the growing and increasingly public cracks in Netanyahu’s relationship with the Trump administration.Arpan Rai21 June 2026 06:29Iran proposes highest-stake position for oil industry in dealIran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has sought the biggest role for the country’s oil industry in the post-war scenario.The war-hit nation’s oil industry will be “the largest platform for providing investment opportunities, technical and financial partnerships for the global economy,” he said, reported Shana news agency.Arpan Rai21 June 2026 06:23Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join Zurich talksVice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday that President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were already in Switzerland to deal “with some of the technical elements of this negotiation” with Iran.The talks were initially scheduled for Friday.Kushner and Witkoff told Vance that “things are going well.”But Vance’s comments may have been premature; Iran claimed Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz was closed to maritime traffic, which the US denied.Trump also said that the US could impose tolls if a deal doesn’t go though.He wrote Saturday on Truth Social: “There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.”(AFP/Getty)Alex Woodward21 June 2026 06:20