WASHINGTON — A new round of direct set to take place on Friday between the United States and Iran in Switzerland have been postponed after US Vice President JD Vance delayed a planned trip to Geneva.
Talkswere abruptly canceled as Israel and Hezbollah traded their most violent strikes since the ceasefire was established.
The talks were set to begin in the Swiss village of Obbürgen two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that opened a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent understanding over Iran’s nuclear program, while getting oil traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Negotiators had been due to meet for what US officials described as “technical discussions” on the next steps of the agreement.
The White House said the US looked forward to “beginning technical talks as soon as possible”, as it announced late on Thursday that Vance, who is leading negotiations for the Trump administration, would not be traveling to Geneva now as the logistics had not been “simple or predictable”.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry later confirmed the talks had been “postponed”, although it said preparations for talks were continuing.
Swiss military and police officials had been patrolling the luxury hotel set high on the Burgenstock mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne, and a media center had been set up for journalists.
The White House blamed logistical issues for calling off the talks, but the announcement came hours after Hezbollah-linked media reported that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
While the US-Iran deal also said fighting should end in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed at least 18 people in the south overnight.
Israel’s military said it had targeted Hezbollah, and that four of its own soldiers had been killed.
Iran’s negotiators first needed to see signs of the US implementing the interim deal, and there was no confirmation its delegation would travel to Geneva, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said before Vance’s Thursday announcement.
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Friday that talks with the United States would remain bound by Tehran’s “red lines.”
“As we have shown in the past path of negotiations, we are steadfast in fulfilling the conditions and red lines set, and in achieving the interests of the Iranian nation,” Qalibaf said in remarks published by the official IRNA news agency.
“If the enemy seeks to be excessive, we have proven that our fingers are on the trigger and we have no hesitation in giving a crushing response to the enemy.”
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that the United States must put pressure on Israel to stop its hostilities in Lebanon.
Barrot said that France was still working to hold an international conference to mobilize support for the Lebanese army.
Israel said on Thursday it would not rule out carrying out attacks beyond a military control zone in southern Lebanon in a challenge to the terms of the US-Iran pact that called for the respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Source: Saudi Gazette