Iran Says Talks With U.S. Could Resume in Coming Days After Switzerland Meeting Was Scrapped

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it is now in contact about holding a meeting with U.S. representatives “in the coming days,” after a planned session in Switzerland was canceled on Friday amid the escalation in Lebanon and Israeli and Hezbollah strikes. The Iranian statement came about an hour after reports that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the meeting, and the start of talks on a final agreement, depends on continued implementation of the conditions set out in the memorandum of understanding with the United States. He said the memorandum to end the war was signed digitally, so “the meeting scheduled for today in Switzerland is no longer urgent.”

The day before, reports said the Iranian delegation had suspended its trip to Switzerland in protest over continued Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also canceled his planned trip, and the meeting intended to launch negotiations between Washington and Tehran did not take place.

Tehran also warned the United States and the mediating countries that the Lebanese front is a central and critical factor in whether the negotiations continue or stop completely. Iranian officials said they were furious over the Israeli attacks, which they described as a violation of the first clause in the memorandum signed with Washington.