Washington and the Iranian government are working to get technical talks back on track after a postponement that saw U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance cancel a visit to Switzerland for negotiations.
Those talks were scheduled to begin on Friday but were abruptly postponed following an escalation in deadly attacks between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The fighters have now renewed a fragile ceasefire that has repeatedly threatened U.S.-Iranian negotiations.
Israel has come under growing criticism from its strongest ally, with Vance and President Donald Trump condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attacks in Lebanon during peace talks.
But just recently, President Trump said his relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu is solid. “I’ve always been good friends with Bibi,” he told NBC on Friday. “Sometimes you just need to calm down and use your head.”
U.S. officials said Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is currently in Switzerland, and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also expected to attend. Witkoff and Kushner previously led negotiations with Iran to reach an initial memorandum of understanding.
It is still unclear exactly when negotiations will resume, but it is likely to take place in the Swiss mountain resort of Bürgenstock. The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that “relevant preparatory work continues at Burgenstock.”
Negotiators face a 60-day deadline to reach a final agreement.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Aditi Sangal, Alejandra Jaramillo, Mustafa Qadri, Adam Poolamadi and Ross Adkin contributed reporting.
