ZURICH (AP): Plans for Vice President JD Vance to travel to Switzerland for negotiations with Iranian officials have been postponed as the United States and Iran continue preparations for talks following this week’s interim agreement between the two countries.
The White House announced Thursday evening that Vance would remain in Washington after plans for the initial round of negotiations could not be finalized.
“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the White House said in a statement.
Vance had been expected to travel to the Swiss village of Obbürgen to begin technical discussions related to the agreement signed earlier this week by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The agreement established a 60-day negotiating period focused on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, and restoring commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours before the postponement was announced, Vance indicated plans for talks were still being finalized.
“Our plan is to go to Switzerland. I don’t know exactly when,” Vance told reporters at the White House. “We think these technical negotiations start sometime this weekend. That’s still the plan. But that could change.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei publicly endorsed direct negotiations with the United States.
“It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” Khamenei said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.
The agreement signed this week calls for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be diluted under international supervision and reaffirms that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons. Additional details regarding long-term restrictions and sanctions relief are expected to be addressed during the upcoming negotiations.
The talks come amid continued fighting in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli forces would remain in a security zone in southern Lebanon as long as security conditions require it.
While Lebanon-related issues are referenced in the interim agreement, Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the negotiations between the United States and Iran.
The Trump administration has described the agreement as the first step toward a broader settlement addressing Iran’s nuclear activities and regional security concerns.
Some members of Congress have already raised questions about portions of the agreement, including proposed sanctions relief and reports of a potential international reconstruction fund for Iran.
Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Thursday that some aspects of the agreement are “completely out of step” with the administration’s stated goals.
Trump and Vance have said no U.S. taxpayer funds would be used for any reconstruction effort and that future economic incentives would be tied to Iranian concessions reached during negotiations.
No new date for the first round of talks has been announced.
