The planned Friday talks between the United States and Iran at Switzerland’s Bürgenstock mountaintop resort have been officially called off, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday.
The development follows a White House statement overnight confirming that Vice President JD Vance had withdrawn from a scheduled trip to meet Iranian negotiators in Geneva. Vance was slated to travel for technical negotiations under a recently struck 14-point agreement, but Washington cited unresolved logistical arrangements as the official reason for the abrupt cancellation.
“The US delegation was prepared to depart once arrangements had been finalized,” the White House noted, adding candidly: “But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable.”
Tehran conditions progress on Lebanon ceasefire
Crucially, the Iranian negotiating delegation had already postponed its departure prior to the US announcement. An informed source had previously told media that the Iranian delegation had suspended its trip to Geneva due to continued Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
Preparations for the inaugural 60-day negotiation round were underway before the suspension was ordered. Tehran has consistently maintained, both to Washington and regional mediators, that the Lebanon file is non-negotiable to the process, directly conditioning the talks’ progress on a definitive halt to hostilities. Iran has warned that Israeli advances penetrating up to 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory flagrantly violate the first clause of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
On Thursday, Iran released the full MoU text, which stipulates an immediate and permanent termination of military operations across all fronts crucially including Lebanon with a final deal targeted for conclusion within 60 days of sustained dialogue.
Under the terms, Washington commits to lifting its naval blockade within 30 days, phasing out all sanctions per an agreed timetable, issuing waivers for Iranian oil exports, releasing frozen assets, and collaborating with regional partners on a $300 billion reconstruction initiative for Iran. In turn, Tehran reaffirms it will not procure or develop nuclear weapons, with existing enriched stockpiles addressed through a mutually agreed IAEA-supervised mechanism, while broader enrichment protocols are deferred to the final negotiation phase.
Dawn airstrikes shatter diplomatic momentum
However, on-the-ground realities sharply contrast with the diplomatic framework. At dawn today, Israeli airstrikes pounded residential neighborhoods in the Nabatieh district specifically Harouf, Kfar Sir, and al-Sharqiyeh claiming multiple lives and leaving several civilians missing beneath the rubble. A separate strike on the southern town of Qatrani added two more civilian fatalities. Hezbollah resistance fighters continue to engage Israeli forces near Kfar Tibnit amid the escalating violence.
Israeli enemy forces are pressing forward with strikes on civilians, medical crews, and residential areas across southern Lebanon, even as diplomatic efforts to end hostilities on all fronts remain publicly underway and now, effectively stalled.
Source: Agencies (translated and edited by Al-Manar)