US Vice President JD Vance has postponed a planned trip to Switzerland, adding fresh uncertainty to the next steps of the newly signed US-Iran agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war. The White House confirmed late Thursday that the visit originally scheduled for Friday would not proceed for now, citing complex and shifting logistics.
The delay came just hours after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei announced he had approved the agreement “despite having a different view,” even as the United States lifted its blockade on Iranian ports. Khamenei, who assumed leadership after the death of his father Ali Khamenei in a February 28 airstrike, said he granted permission based on assurances from Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, that the nation’s rights would be protected.
The deal, signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Pezeshkian, triggers a 60‑day window for broader negotiations on long‑standing disputes including Iran’s nuclear program. But with no diplomatic relations between the two countries since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, expectations for a formal signing ceremony or immediate talks in Switzerland have dimmed.
A White House spokesperson acknowledged the uncertainty, saying, “The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice President is not departing tonight. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”
In Tehran, the Tasnim news agency reported that “nothing has been confirmed” regarding Iran’s delegation traveling to Switzerland.
Khamenei, in a written statement, stressed that future face‑to‑face negotiations with the United States would not signal acceptance of Washington’s positions. Meanwhile, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a pointed warning on X, saying any breach of the agreement would be met with a “decisive response.”
As both sides navigate the fragile early days of the accord, the path ahead remains fraught and the world is watching to see whether this rare diplomatic opening can hold.
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