The White House announced a delay to Vice President JD Vance’s Switzerland trip to lead further nuclear negotiations with Iran, adding uncertainty to the next stage of a tentative agreement intended to end the war. Officials attributed the postponement to difficult logistics surrounding the talks.
The announcement followed a report by Al-Mayadeen that Iran was holding back its delegation because of Israel's continuing campaign in Lebanon. Vance had already said he was unsure when the Swiss meetings would begin and that they might not take place during the week. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also postponed a planned Swiss visit, according to two senior officials, after Iran and the United States had already signed the agreement.
Earlier Thursday, Vance publicly defended the initial pact, which extends the ceasefire for 60 days while negotiations continue. He presented economic relief as conditional on Iran meeting US demands. The vice president also pointed to lower petrol prices and renewed movement through the Strait of Hormuz as early benefits. US officials said the blockade had ended and that oil-tanker traffic could again use the channel.
The agreement requires Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile to be diluted at minimum under international supervision and says Tehran will not procure or develop nuclear weapons. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Iran must provide a written commitment renouncing nuclear ambitions.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told members of Congress in a private briefing that Tehran would extend an inspection invitation covering its nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency and begin locating enriched material believed to be under rubble. Two people familiar with the briefing described it on condition of anonymity. Witkoff said there were no side deals, although a letter between Tehran and the IAEA was drafted to extend the invitation. The IAEA did not comment.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei appeared to endorse direct talks while saying they would not require accepting the other side's position. It was his first reaction to the pact and represented a notable shift from the opposition to direct engagement associated with hard-liners. He has not appeared publicly since being wounded at the start of the war.
The initial document was signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles while he dined with French President Emmanuel Macron. In the United States, some congressional Republicans criticised potential sanctions relief and a possible $300 billion reconstruction fund. Vance rejected arguments that the arrangement unduly favoured Iran and emerged as its principal public defender, even as the delayed Swiss trip left the timetable for detailed negotiations unresolved.
