WASHINGTON
US Vice President JD Vance is not departing for Switzerland on Thursday as logistical details for expected technical talks with Iran remain unresolved, said the White House.
“As of now, the US vice president is not departing tonight,” a spokesperson said.
Vance had been expected to travel to Switzerland as part of efforts to advance discussions linked to Iran.
“As the vice president said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks have not been finalized, and the US delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity. But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the spokesperson said.
The US looks forward to beginning technical talks “as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier Thursday, Vance told reporters that he plans to go to Switzerland, and technical talks with Iran might start “this weekend.”
“I plan to go to Switzerland. Exactly when,… I think these technical negotiations are going to start sometime this weekend. That’s still the plan. But that could change because it’s not an easy country, Iran, to get out of. And so we’re trying to figure out exactly when that’s going to happen. I suspect this weekend, but I’m not sure,” he said.
Later, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announced that the talks scheduled for Friday at the Bürgenstock in the canton of Nidwalden were cancelled, according to the local media reports.
On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” which is intended to pave the way for ending the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran on Feb. 28.
Under the memorandum, Washington and Tehran are due to hold negotiations lasting 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, aimed at reaching a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions.
