{"id":1038,"date":"2026-07-06T23:18:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2026-07-06T23:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:18:47","slug":"vance-says-us-hopes-to-transform-middle-east-as-iran-talks-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=1038","title":{"rendered":"Vance says US hopes to \u2018transform\u2019 Middle East as Iran talks begin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.politico.com\/a3\/3b\/92700d484429b2908b0ffea6046b\/switzerland-iran-us-negotiations-76948.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Vice President JD Vance laid out lofty ambitions ahead of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war, suggesting that the talks could \u201ctransform the Middle East\u201d even as fighting in Lebanon threatens to undermine the perilous U.S.-Iran ceasefire.<\/p>\n<p>Vance told reporters in Switzerland on Sunday that President Donald Trump\u2019s hope for the region is that it\u2019s \u201cmuch different 10 years from now than it was 10 years ago,\u201d while pointing to Iran as the catalyst for volatility in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we&#8217;re trying to accomplish here is something very simple,\u201d he said. \u201cThrough diplomacy, through working together to transform the Middle East \u2026 where Iran has been a driver of regional instability, now we see a future where everybody can work together to promote peace and prosperity for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting between Vance and Iranian officials, originally expected to begin Friday, was temporarily delayed after an escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Saturday, Iran again closed transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which had been reopened last week as part of the U.S-Iran ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TreyYingst\/status\/2068685921956798640?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">Fox News interview<\/a> on Sunday, Trump threatened to \u201ctake over\u201d the strait and will \u201cblow the shit out of\u201d Iran if needed.<\/p>\n<p>Vance said \u201cadditional progress has been made\u201d in Lebanon since both he and Iranian officials opted not to travel to Switzerland for talks on Thursday and projected confidence that the U.S. and Israel could achieve a lasting peace in Lebanon despite \u201cdisagreements\u201d over strategy. Hezbollah, which has launched missile strikes against Israel, has long been supported by Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanon is expected to be among the topics discussed between Vance and Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president has committed us to see a full regional ceasefire. We\u2019ve found great partners in working with the Qataris, the Pakistanis, our friends in Israel,\u201d Vance said. \u201cWe&#8217;re all working toward regional peace. There, of course, are going to be sometimes disagreements about precisely how to get there, but I actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump struck a different tone on Lebanon later Sunday morning. The president told Fox News he\u2019s considering empowering Syria to join the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding that he\u2019s \u201cdisappointed Israel can\u2019t put Hezbollah away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116788337995785578\" target=\"_blank\">social media post<\/a>, he urged Iran to \u201cstop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon,\u201d threatening to \u201chit Iran very hard again\u201d if Hezbollah continues fighting Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Vance reiterated the importance of a critical sticking point in negotiations thus far: The U.S. demand for Iran to be prohibited from building a nuclear weapon. The agreement signed by Trump last week would allow Iran to use its nuclear program for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions for the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country,\u201d Vance said. \u201cThat is certainly our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vice President JD Vance laid out lofty ambitions ahead of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war, suggesting that the talks could \u201ctransform the Middle East\u201d even as fighting in Lebanon threatens to undermine the perilous U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Vance told reporters in Switzerland on Sunday that President Donald Trump\u2019s hope for the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.politico.com\/a3\/3b\/92700d484429b2908b0ffea6046b\/switzerland-iran-us-negotiations-76948.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}