Plans for US and Iranian negotiators to sit down in Switzerland today were abruptly shelved, injecting fresh doubt into when the next round of talks will begin — discussions intended to turn this week’s memorandum aimed at ending the war into a durable peace agreement.
The memorandum of understanding, signed this week by the Iranian and US presidents, deliberately parked the hardest questions — including Iran’s nuclear programme — for later. It gives the two sides 60 days to strike a lasting deal or agree to extend the interim arrangement.
Preparations for technical discussions in the Swiss mountaintop resort of Burgenstock were well advanced when US Vice President JD Vance said yesterday he would no longer attend, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
Earlier yesterday, a source familiar with Tehran’s thinking said Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was also not planning to make the trip.
JD Vance had been set to travel to Switzerland before calling off the plans last night
Beyond the still-unsettled core issues, negotiators face an added complication: Israel’s conflict in Lebanon with Hezbollah, which could make it harder to lock in a lasting settlement.
Under the interim deal, the United States, Iran and their allies are required to declare an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Israel, which was not included in the negotiations, says it is not party to the deal. Fighting in Lebanon eased earlier this week, only to flare again.
However, this afternoon Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire, a senior US official said.
The war began on 28 February with US and Israeli air attacks on Iran and has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. The conflict also drove up energy prices and rattled global markets, though oil prices have slipped this week.
Markets have taken some comfort from the prospect of additional supply after tankers started transiting the Strait of Hormuz again. Before Iran blockaded it during the war, the passage carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Iran said it was ready to start technical talks after this week’s accord extended a fragile ceasefire by at least 60 days.
Mr Vance and the US delegation were prepared to leave as soon as the meeting details were settled, the White House spokesperson said in a statement last night.
“But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the statement said. Iran’s government did not immediately respond.
Iran has said it will still exert control over Hormuz in partnership with its neighbour Oman
A Swiss foreign ministry statement said the talks had been postponed, adding that Switzerland remained ready to facilitate the negotiations and that the relevant preparatory work was continuing.
US officials had also said they would stage a formal signing ceremony for the deal in Switzerland. But Iran’s foreign ministry had questioned the need for that, saying it was unnecessary after both presidents signed the pact.
In Washington, several of US President Donald Trump’s Republican allies in Congress voiced concern that he may have yielded too much to end a conflict that most Americans oppose as midterm elections approach in November.
In March, Mr Trump had vowed the war would end only with Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
Instead, the memorandum offers sanctions relief, unlocks assets worth tens of billions of dollars and grants immediate US waivers for Iran’s oil exports.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Mr Trump signed the agreement “out of desperation” and suggested that upcoming negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme — one of Mr Trump’s stated reasons for initiating the war — would be difficult.
“If the American side wants to be too demanding, we will not accept it,” he said in a message.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council promised a reciprocal response to any breach by what it called the “untrustworthy” American side, saying it would show “no leniency” until the nation’s full rights were secured.
Life has largely returned to normal in Tehran under the ceasefire
The accord sets a 60-day window for negotiators to resolve the status of Iran’s nuclear programme — unless both sides agree to extend the deadline — and to establish a $300bn reconstruction fund for Iran alongside other financial incentives.
Mr Vance said Washington would also push to curb Iran’s long-range missiles.
The escalating price tag of the conflict is also drawing scrutiny. The US defence department told politicians it needs $80bn to cover the war’s costs and some unrelated bills, the Wall Street Journal reported.
US officials say the talks could still produce a robust agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, seeking to improve on the 2015 deal between Iran, the US and other countries that Mr Trump abandoned during his first term.
Critics, however, argue Iran now negotiates from a stronger position after enduring a superpower attack, showing its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz and securing significant waivers from financial sanctions.
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