US vice president cancels trip for peace talks with Iran

US Vice President JD Vance has pulled out of a planned trip to meet Iranian negotiators in Switzerland on Friday to begin complex talks on implementing the 14-point agreement struck between Tehran and Washington to end their war, a White House spokesperson said.

US officials said this week they would hold a formal signing ceremony for the US-Iran agreement in Geneva, after both countries' presidents signed an interim agreement on Wednesday.

The Swiss government had also stated on Thursday that initial talks between the US and Iran were planned at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort.

Vance and the US delegation had been ready to depart as soon as plans for the talks had been finalised, the White House spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday night.

"But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," the statement said. 

ISRAEL CONTINUES FIGHT

Israel, which was not included in the peace talks and has distanced itself from the US-Iran accord, continued its fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, also raising questions about whether the agreement would hold.

In Washington, some of US President Donald Trump's Republican allies in Congress questioned whether he had given up too much in order to end the conflict, which is unpopular with most Americans.

Trump previously wrote he would only end the war with Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER," but the memorandum he signed with Iran instead provides relief from economic sanctions, unfreezes assets worth tens of billions of dollars, and immediately provides US waivers for Iran to export its oil.

The deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach an agreement on the status of Iran's nuclear program unless both sides agree to an extension, and sets up a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran and other financial incentives. Vance said Washington would also seek to limit Iran's long-range missiles.

In Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced by the fighting, Israeli forces launched fresh airstrikes early on Thursday, raising doubt about how far Trump will go to force his wartime allies to halt an offensive he has now pledged to end.

Trump said he expects a complete ceasefire on all fronts.

The deal calls for the "permanent termination" of the war in Lebanon and for the country's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" to be ensured.

Israel has said it has no intention of withdrawing from Lebanon and released a new map showing an expanded occupation zone.

Trump has become openly critical of Israel's operations in Lebanon, leading to one of the biggest rifts between the two countries in decades.