The White House said that the reason for changing Vice President J.D. Vance's plan was due to "logistics issues". But there are some signs that this decision is related to the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, according to US media.
At a press conference on June 18, Mr. Vance said that the plan for the talks was not yet finalized and mentioned that Iranian officials may have technical difficulties traveling.
The US delegation is ready to depart as soon as possible. But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. Currently, the Vice President will not depart tonight. We hope to start technical negotiations as soon as possible" - the White House said in a statement on the evening of June 18.
On the afternoon of June 18, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei allowed Iranian negotiators to conduct direct negotiations with the US, while emphasizing that it does not mean accepting the opponent's views.
Hours later, the head of the Iranian negotiating delegation, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a statement thanking Supreme Leader Khamenei and pledged to maintain Iran's red lines in negotiations with the US, but did not mention any changes to the plan.
A US official said that Iran's accusations of Israel violating the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon may be the reason why the talks did not take place on June 19.
The Israeli army launched an attack in southern Lebanon earlier on June 18, killing 4 people. On the evening of June 18, after the Israeli ambassador's statement and before Vice President Vance announced he would postpone the trip, fierce fighting broke out between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Accordingly, when President Trump shared on Truth Social that the US is "committed to peace" and called on all parties in the region to allow negotiations to "go well". "We expect a complete ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel" - he wrote.
Immediately after that, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri gave a response, emphasizing that to facilitate negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland, "I reaffirm Lebanon's position and Hezbollah's commitment to a ceasefire, provided that Israel fully and comprehensively complies".
Later, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter wrote on X that Israel remains committed to the ceasefire agreement with the Lebanese government. "If Hezbollah does not violate the agreement, the agreement will be complied with. In any case, Israel still retains the right to respond to attacks targeting it and prevent threats to its territory, citizens and soldiers" - he emphasized.
