US-Iran Talks Postponed Amid Israeli Strikes as White House Blames ‘Logistical Issues’

Vice President JD Vance’s trip to formally sign a deal with Iran was postponed amid fresh Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Vance was meant to travel to Switzerland on Thursday night to sign the 14-point agreement, which President Donald Trump signed earlier this week.

“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,” a White House spokesperson said on Thursday.

The postponement came on what is technically the first day of a 60-day ceasefire that is part of the agreement. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) also includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a reconstruction fund, and more. The deal has received bipartisan backlash, with even some of the president’s vocal supporters blasting it as too beneficial to Iran.

Vance’s trip was canceled as Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said 18 were killed in the airstrikes. Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and their military said it lost four soldiers in the country this week.

The new US-Iran deal calls for an end to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson reported on the strikes in Lebanon on Friday and noted it could be a bad sign for US-Iran peace talks.

“Day 60 of talks yesterday, now we’re down to 59 days and no talks. That does not seem to have been a success so far,” he reported.

Vance warned Israel this week that “you can’t kill your way” out of conflict after noting a “weird panic almost in the Israeli system” over the US-Iran deal.

“I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world. We’ve done a very good job by that particular country and that particular government, and I think that the idea that we’ve made a terrible deal is not supported by the facts, but just doesn’t make any sense if you consider the broad length of the relationship,” he said.

Watch above via CNN.

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