Hopes for a durable end to the Middle East conflict dimmed Thursday when Switzerland confirmed that planned peace negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials would not go forward, after Vice President JD Vance canceled his trip to Geneva.
“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement Thursday night, noting that Vance and the U.S. delegation had been prepared to leave as soon as final arrangements were confirmed.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirmed the talks — which had been scheduled to take place at the mountaintop resort of Burgenstock — would not happen, though officials offered no explanation for the cancellation.
Iran had not immediately responded to the development. Earlier, Tehran had signaled it was prepared to begin technical discussions following Wednesday’s 14-point accord, which extended a fragile ceasefire by a minimum of 60 days.
Before Vance made his Thursday announcement, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian negotiators wanted to first see evidence that the U.S. was following through on the interim agreement before committing to send a delegation to Geneva.
U.S. officials had planned to hold a formal signing ceremony in Switzerland for the agreement, but Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed the idea as unnecessary, pointing out that both nations’ presidents had already signed the pact.
The war, which began February 28 with U.S. and Israeli air strikes against Iran, has now claimed at least 7,000 lives, driven energy prices sharply higher, and rattled financial markets around the world.
Israel Keeps Fighting
Israel, which was excluded from the peace negotiations, has kept its distance from the U.S.-Iran agreement and continued its military campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group operating in Lebanon — raising further questions about whether the deal will hold.
Back in Washington, some Republican allies of President Donald Trump in Congress questioned whether he gave away too much to bring the conflict to a close, particularly with midterm elections approaching in November and the war widely unpopular among Americans.
Trump had previously vowed he would only end the war with Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
However, the memorandum he signed with Iran instead offers the country relief from economic sanctions, unfreezes tens of billions of dollars in assets, and grants immediate U.S. waivers allowing Iran to export oil.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei claimed Trump had signed the agreement “out of desperation” and suggested that upcoming discussions over Iran’s nuclear program — one of Trump’s stated justifications for going to war — would be far from straightforward.
“If the American side wants to be too demanding, we will not accept it,” Khamenei said in a statement.
The agreement gives negotiators 60 days to reach a resolution on Iran’s nuclear program, with the possibility of an extension, and establishes a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran along with additional financial incentives. Vance indicated Washington would also push to place limits on Iran’s long-range missile capabilities.
The financial toll of the war also drew renewed attention, as the U.S. defense department informed lawmakers it required $80 billion to cover war-related costs and certain other expenses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
When the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict nearly four months ago, Trump stated his goal was to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities so the country could never develop such weapons. He also sought to eliminate Tehran’s ability to strike neighboring nations, cut off its support for anti-Israel militant groups in the region, and create conditions for Iranians to overthrow their government.
None of those goals had been achieved when Trump signed the agreement. In it, Iran reiterated its longstanding claim — one doubted by multiple U.S. administrations — that it does not seek to acquire or build nuclear weapons.
Iran also agreed to on-site “down blending” of its highly enriched uranium stockpile and to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections as a Non-Proliferation Treaty member, though it rejected Trump’s demand that the material be removed from Iranian soil.
U.S. officials maintain the ongoing negotiations could still produce a strong agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, potentially surpassing a 2015 deal between Iran, the United States, and other nations that Trump abandoned during his first term. Critics, however, argue Iran now holds a stronger hand — having survived an attack by a superpower, demonstrated its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, and secured valuable financial sanctions waivers.
Iran has stated it will continue to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz in partnership with neighboring Oman, and intends to charge ships service fees that did not exist before the war — though not during the 60-day negotiating window.
Oil prices edged lower Friday as the prospect of increased supply improved after tankers began moving again through the reopening Strait, which had carried nearly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war began.
In Lebanon, where more than one million people have been displaced by the fighting, fresh Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least 15 people, according to the state news agency NNA. Israel said the strikes targeted Hezbollah positions.
The continued fighting raised questions about how far Trump would go to pressure his wartime ally to stand down from an offensive he has pledged to end. The agreement calls for the “permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon, but Israel has said it has no plans to withdraw, and has released a new map depicting an expanded occupation zone.
Trump has grown openly critical of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, creating one of the most significant rifts between the two countries in decades.
