The White House said overnight Thursday to Friday that Vice President J.D. Vance will not leave for Switzerland yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iran. Officials said the delay is due to unforeseen logistics in the negotiations, and stressed that the American team was ready to travel at the first opportunity.
The administration said technical talks with Iran have not been finally scheduled, but the U.S. still expects them to begin as soon as possible. The announcement came amid reports from Lebanon that the Iranian delegation also canceled its planned trip to Switzerland after continued Israeli strikes there, and after Iranian warnings that further violations of understandings with Washington could endanger the talks.
Vance has become the public face of the deal in recent days, defending it against criticism in the United States and Israel. In interviews with The New York Times and at a White House briefing, he said the new understandings differ from the Obama-era nuclear agreement because Iran has committed to destroying its stockpile of enriched uranium. He also said any sanctions relief would depend on changes in Iran’s behavior.
He criticized ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for attacking the deal, while saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself had not publicly opposed it. “I don’t think Bibi himself really criticized the deal,” Vance said. “Maybe because he knows the details better.” The latest uncertainty follows reports of intensified IDF activity in southern Lebanon, including around Nabatieh, but neither Washington nor Tehran has formally canceled the talks.
