US-Iran talks postponed – Switzerland

PUBLIC PULSE Aman at a kiosk in Tehran reads a June 18 copy of Iranian newspaper Hamshahri bearing an image of US President Donald Trump. —AFP

GENEVA—Switzerland announced Friday that planned talks following up on the deal to end the Middle East war had been postponed, hours after US Vice President JD Vance’s departure for the Alpine country was canceled.

The signing of the accord this week was intended to end the conflict in Iran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin a 60-day period for talks on wider issues, including Tehran’s nuclear program.

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READ: Vance push to get Iran talks hits snag, weekend negotiations on hold

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The deal was also intended to halt the fighting in Lebanon. But Israel’s military announced on Friday new strikes against Hezbollah targets in the nation’s south.

“The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed,” the Swiss foreign ministry said in a message to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing,” it added, without providing a new date for the talks.

The White House made the announcement late Thursday that Vance’s trip was canceled, with a spokesperson saying the “logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable.”

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Approved with reservations

“We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible,” the White House said.

The Tasnim agency in Iran said “nothing has been confirmed” about the Iranian delegation’s trip to Switzerland.

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The agreement has been signed separately by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday he had approved the accord, despite reservations, even as the United States lifted a blockade of Iranian ports.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who took over after his father, longstanding ruler Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war on Feb. 28, said in a written statement that he held a “different view” on the deal.

“But I issued my permission due to the commitment” made by officials including Pezeshkian to “protect the rights of the Iranian nation,” he said, adding that there will be “face-to-face negotiations” with the United States in the future, but this does not “mean accepting the enemy’s point of view.”

US warships still in area

On Friday, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Tehran would give a “decisive” response if the agreement was breached.

American forces on Thursday lifted their naval blockade of Iranian ports that had prevented ships from sailing to or from the Islamic republic.

But the US military said American warships “will remain in the general area.”

Activity was still muted in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic bottleneck for energy shipments that Iran blockaded during the conflict.

Three Saudi oil tankers left the Gulf through the strait on Thursday, maritime trackers said, as did a French vessel loaded with liquefied natural gas.

Iranian state TV, citing a statement from the country’s Supreme National Security Council, said that ships “seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz must submit their request” to a new government body tasked with overseeing the waterway.

In keeping with the terms of the deal, Iran added that “no fees whatsoever will be collected from applicants for a period of 60 days.”

The US-Israeli conflict with Iran had seen five weeks of all-out war until a ceasefire was struck in early April.

But fighting has not stopped in Lebanon. Tehran-backed Hezbollah said clashes were “ongoing” on Friday and its fighters destroyed three Israeli tanks in the country’s south.

‘No hope’ for peace deal

Israel has yet to confirm if its tanks were hit, but its military said Friday it was striking Hezbollah targets in several areas of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli campaign.

Some in Tehran were downbeat at the prospects of a peace deal between the United States and Iran.

“I have no hope that this is a lasting agreement. Maybe after the 60 days they start fighting again,” said Mina, 54, a psychologist from Tehran.

Under the text, Washington commits to immediately waive oil sanctions crippling Iran’s economy.

And once a final agreement is reached on Iran’s nuclear program, the United States will facilitate the release of a $300-billion reconstruction fund supported by regional nations, the deal says.

Trump’s decision to end the war, in which 13 US service members were killed and a vast proportion of US ammunition stockpiles was used, has unsettled some of his allies at home.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy described it as the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”

Trump argued that using military force to wring more concessions out of Tehran would have been counterproductive.

“The only way I can get tougher is if I go in there for another two or three weeks and continue to bomb the hell out of ’em. Right? But what does that get us? The Strait of Hormuz will not be open,” he told Axios.

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“We wouldn’t have oil for months,” Trump said. “This is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression.”