First round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland called off, clouding prospects for lasting truce

The first round of technical talks under the new US-Iran memorandum of understanding will not take place on Friday, the day negotiations were expected to commence at the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said.

The meeting was nixed even though the signing of the MOU set the clock ticking on a 60-day period during which Iran and the US are meant to hammer out a final agreement on sensitive and complex issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.

The reason for the cancellation is unclear, though a US official told Axios that it may be due to Iran’s objections to what it sees as Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has continued. The deal mandates a ceasefire in Lebanon, and Iran has demanded that Israel withdraw, but Israel has vowed to keep its troops in a buffer zone in the country’s south.

The Swiss announcement came after a White House spokesperson said overnight that US Vice President JD Vance would not depart Thursday night for the talks.

“As the vice president said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks with Iran have not been finalized, and the US delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement.

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“But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the vice president is not departing tonight. We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible,” the statement added.

Vance had said at the press conference, where he railed against Israeli officials’ criticism of the Iran deal and US President Donald Trump, that the planned talks weren’t finalized because it was difficult to get Iranian officials out of Iran. Vance said he thought he would travel to Switzerland at some point this weekend.

Critics of the MOU signed this week have pointed to its provisions on sanctions relief for Iran, including unfreezing Iranian funds and setting up a $300 billion reconstruction fund.

Vance said Thursday that Iran would reap rewards only if it complies with terms set to be hammered out in the 60-day window that he said began on Thursday.

Witkoff: Iran to let in UN nuclear inspectors

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, part of the US negotiating team led by Vance, told US lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that Tehran would invite UN nuclear watchdog inspectors, according to two people familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Witkoff in the meeting disclosed the existence of a side letter drafted between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency that invited IAEA inspectors to check Iran’s nuclear facilities and start work to uncover its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the sources.

The envoy also told congressional leadership and members of congressional committees on national security that the MOU with Iran does not include any side deals, the sources said.

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to have been buried under rubble following US strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June.

The IAEA has previously called out Iran for failing to give a full account of the material’s whereabouts and for shutting inspectors out of nuclear sites.

While Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking nuclear arms, it has enriched uranium to levels with no peaceful application, and rejected calls to cease uranium enrichment.

Khamenei: Talks with US don’t mean ‘accepting enemy’s point of view’

A statement late on Thursday attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said he had authorized the MOU, but that future direct negotiations with the US “will not mean accepting the enemy’s point of view.”

Khamenei has not been seen in public since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. He was quoted as saying he approved the MOU after senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, assured him that Iran’s rights and the interests of the “Resistance Front” would be safeguarded.

Pezeshkian, as head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has pledged not to yield if Washington makes “excessive demands,” Khamenei was quoted saying.

Khamenei was appointed supreme leader in March after his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening strikes of the US-Israeli bombing campaign on February 28. He is thought to have been injured in the strikes.

The campaign sought to destabilize Iran’s regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, but the fighting entered a truce on April 8 with none of those goals achieved.

Early in the war, Iran imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. The closure choked off about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipping, triggering a global rise in energy prices and piling political pressure on the White House to end the war.

The US lifted its own blockade on Iran as part of the agreement with Iran, and the MOU calls on Iran to reinstate maritime traffic and de-mine the key waterway.

Pezeshkian’s security council said overnight that it would take measures to issue fast authorizations to ships hoping to pass through the strait, in accordance with the MOU.

Measures on mine clearance will be carried out under the MOU, though ships are advised to stick to the path and timing allocated by the authority, the statement published by state media added.