JD Vance postpones Switzerland trip; Iran talks clouded.
JD Vance’s team was set to depart, but the Switzerland visit was delayed as complex Iran talks required more coordination.
Washington — The White House said late Thursday that Vice President JD Vance has postponed a planned trip to Switzerland, where he was to lead a fresh round of talks with Iran over its nuclear program. The delay — officials blamed tricky logistics — raises fresh uncertainty about a tentative deal that aims to halt the wider war.
Vance’s team was ready to depart but will wait, the White House said, after reports that Tehran was also hesitating to send its delegation. A pan-Arab channel aligned with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah reported that Iran was delaying because of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
Once a skeptic of U.S. military involvement with Iran, Vance has become the administration’s public face on the crisis, appearing frequently to defend the fragile framework of an agreement. On Thursday he made an unusual visit to the White House to argue for extending a ceasefire for 60 days to buy time for negotiations. He acknowledged the deal asks concessions from both sides while insisting Iran must show tangible compliance before Washington eases pressure.
“If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.” But he also cautioned that the timing of his trip was uncertain — a caution that was borne out when the White House announced the formal postponement.
The hold on Vance’s travel comes soon after the U.S. lifted its blockade, allowing oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz again after months of restricted movement through the vital waterway. That move was one of several steps meant to ease immediate tensions, but the broader accord has drawn sharp pushback at home.
Some Republican lawmakers worry the deal cedes too much, pointing to possible sanctions relief and a proposed USD 300 billion fund to help with regional reconstruction. Their concern reflects a wider anxiety in Washington about whether the agreement offers security assurances robust enough to prevent Iran from reconstituting a weapons program.
Behind closed doors, a top Trump administration envoy told lawmakers that Tehran would invite the U.N. nuclear watchdog to inspect Iranian sites — a potentially significant step toward verification. And Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a statement indicating a degree of openness to direct talks, saying face-to-face negotiations “will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion.” Observers read that as a notable shift, though hard-liners remain influential.
The tentative agreement requires at minimum that Iran dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium under international supervision and reiterates Tehran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons. The U.S. says the deal includes no secret side agreements, though a side letter drafted between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency would invite the agency to Tehran to inspect envoy told lawmakers.
As diplomats recalibrate plans, uncertainty persists — about travel, about inspections, and about whether political resistance on both sides will let the fragile pause harden into durable progress.