Vance Delays Trip to Switzerland as U.S.-Iran Talks Are Put on Hold

The White House said at 4:17 a.m. that Vice President J.D. Vance is postponing his departure for talks with Iran in Switzerland. A senior U.S. official said Iranian claims about alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon may be behind the disruption, and the planned talks were expected not to take place on Thursday.

By 6:51 a.m., an Asharq reporter in Washington said Vance was also not traveling to Switzerland at this stage because of the situation in Lebanon. Earlier, Iran announced it was suspending its delegation’s arrival for the talks, citing Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon.

Reports from Lebanon described a night of bombing in and around Nabatieh, with more than 20 airstrikes between the Litani River and the Zahrani River. There were also reports of Israeli attacks early Thursday in southern Lebanon, focused on the village of Tebnit and Mount Ali Taher in the Nabatieh area.

At 12:25 a.m., the pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen network said the Iranian delegation had canceled its trip to Switzerland for Thursday because of the continuing IDF strikes in Lebanon. Earlier, after a statement by the Lebanese parliament speaker, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and lead negotiator with Lebanon, Yechiel Leiter, said, “Israel remains committed to the ceasefire agreement. If Hezbollah does not violate the agreement, it will be preserved.” Separately, an AP report said Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told U.S. lawmakers in a private briefing that Iran would invite the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its nuclear facilities and begin work to identify the location of the enriched material held by Tehran.