US-Iran talks to resume as Witkoff heads to Switzerland, Israel newly strikes Hezbollah targets

Vice President JD Vance told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday that the “United States has all the cards" ahead of the latest round of US-Iran negotiations, set to take place in Switzerland. 

The talks are set to unfold after President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday signed a 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war between the U.S. and Iran. 

"A lot of the criticisms of the deal have really underappreciated is that the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open. The Iranian military is now destroyed. The Iranians have committed to, of course, destroying that stockpile of enriched material,” Vance said. “But we have a lot of economic pressure applied to the Iranians that we would be willing to relieve if they do what we need them to do. If they don't do that, of course there's no skin off our back. They're still in a much weakened position." 

"We'll plan the talks when the principals from the Iranian government, also the Qatari and the Pakistani governments arrive. That may happen as soon as tomorrow, but these things are always a little bit in flux. Jared [Kushner] and Steve [Witkoff] have been on the ground now for a few hours, dealing with some of the technical elements of this negotiation,” Vance added.

"My understanding, talking to Jared and Steve this morning, is things are going well,” Vance also said.

Vice President JD Vance told Christians in Lebanon to “keep the faith” Saturday as fighting between the terrorist group Hezbollah and the Israeli military has forced many to be displaced from their homes.  

“Christians in Lebanon, keep your faith in Jesus Christ and know that you have a lot of good friends in the United States government who are trying to promote peace in the region,” Vance said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”  

“You know, the fundamental problem for those Christians or the reason that those Christians face such violence is because you have Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that has effectively taken up shop in Lebanon. Sometimes they're fighting with the Israelis. Of course, that means the Israelis are going to respond in self-defense. And so there's this constant slow burn of conflict,” Vance continued. 

“It's actually gotten a lot better... over the last couple of weeks, thanks to the work of the president, of Secretary Rubio and of a whole lot of others in the administration. But sometimes peace takes a little bit of time to really take root. And that's what we're working towards. And that's really what we're working towards in the entire region, is just to change the way that we've done business. It's such a beautiful region of the world. There are so many Christians, Jews, Muslims who live there. Most of them are, of course, peaceful people. There's great economic potential,” the vice president also said. 

"If you talk to our friends in Israel and the Gulf Coast, what they're saying is that if this deal [with Iran] really takes root, this could transform the Middle East in a positive direction. Obviously, we have skeptics of the deal, but I think we've got to give more voice also to the people who think that Donald Trump is on the verge of accomplishing something that has never been accomplished before,” Vance added. 

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday that he expects to leave for Switzerland to join Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations. 

Vance made the announcement to “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday after scrapping a planned trip to Switzerland on Friday. 

“I expect that I will leave sometime in the next couple of days. But, you know, it's always a delicate coordination dance and the diplomatic protocols,” Vance said. 

“I got to be honest with you, I don't really understand these things. I've never been particularly into diplomatic protocols. My attitude is ‘let's get on the ground and actually fix these problems.’ But they want to do a delicate dance. The Qataris and the Pakistanis want to make sure that we do this in the right way,” Vance added. 

President Donald Trump accused Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of trying to rekindle a friendship for political gain after the United States “defeated Iran militarily.” 

The remarks Saturday come after a rift between Trump and Meloni emerged this week following the G7 summit. Trump told an Italian news outlet that Meloni "begged" him to take a photo with her during the G7 earlier this week, which sparked strong rebuke from the prime minister and Italian diplomats.   

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).” 

“She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other ‘so-called’ NATO Allies,” Trump continued. “Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” 

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this post. 

Switzerland’s foreign ministry said Saturday that it “continues to provide a discreet and reliable setting to facilitate talks at Bürgenstock on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran.” 

“Diplomats from various countries currently present are continuing their efforts to maintain the dialogue. For reasons of confidentiality, no further information can be provided regarding those present or the discussions,” it added. 

The ministry announced on Friday that scheduled talks between the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan had been postponed. 

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is now expected to travel to Switzerland and join Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, for the next round of talks, according to Axios. 

Fox News’ Simon Owen contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump on Saturday slammed former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for their handling of Iran, calling both leaders "weak and ineffective."

"Radical Left fools and Dumocrats realize how well we have done in our War against Iran, with their Country being completely defeated militarily. Obuma just kept giving them $Billions in cash, and never used our then depleted military for what should have been done to reign in the World’s number one sponsor of terror, Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"They had ZERO respect for him. They thought he was, like Sleepy Joe Biden, a weak and ineffective leader, and on this they were 100% correct," Trump continued. 

"Iran got away with 'murder' for 47 years, until I came along. Then it all changed. AMERICA IS BACK!!!" Trump also said.

Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday signed a 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war between the U.S. and Iran.

The Israel Defense Forces said it has been “striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon” Saturday in response to fresh Hezbollah aggression, testing a ceasefire that was made between the two sides a day earlier. 

“Overnight, the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Following the attacks, the IDF has been striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said. 

Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement that went into effect on Friday. 

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had said Friday that Israel remains “firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” with Hezbollah. 

“If Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet,” Leiter said. 

Leiter also defended Israel’s security buffer zone in southern Lebanon, saying Israeli forces would remain there until Hezbollah’s infrastructure is dismantled. 

“The people of Lebanon deserve a future free from Hezbollah’s grip, and a real, genuine peace between our two countries remains possible,” he added. 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this post. 

Officials within the Trump administration are reportedly exploring communications channels with Israeli opposition leaders, including potential challengers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Administration officials have recently begun making outreach efforts aimed at establishing relationships with opposition figures, according to The Times of Israel, which cited a report from Israel's Channel 12.

According to the report, the leading candidates to replace Netanyahu in a future election include former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.

The outreach reportedly comes amid growing frustration within the administration over what some officials view as the Israeli government's inability to achieve key diplomatic objectives.

Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi is reportedly expected to participate in the next round of U.S.-Iran talks aimed at reaching a potential nuclear agreement.

Araghchi is expected to travel to Switzerland on Sunday for the negotiations, according to Axios.

The outlet reported that his travel plans remain fluid and could still change.

Axios also reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Switzerland for the talks.

White House adviser Jared Kushner is already in Switzerland ahead of the anticipated negotiations, according to the report.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Switzerland to participate in negotiations with Iran over a potential nuclear agreement, according to Axios.

The outlet also reported that former White House adviser Jared Kushner is already in Switzerland ahead of the anticipated talks.

The report came after Vice President JD Vance scrapped plans to travel to Switzerland on Friday for what had been expected to be the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations.

The talks were expected to take place following a newly signed memorandum of understanding, with negotiators initially aiming to reach an agreement within 60 days.