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.
US Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, June 18, 2026. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
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.
White House envoys Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, listen as US Vice President JD Vance (not in picture) speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 12, 2026. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
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.
Iranian army soldiers stand in front of a picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a pro-regime rally in Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. (AFP)
Pezeshkian, as head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council…
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