US Vice-President JD Vance postponed a trip to Switzerland for talks that were originally slated for Friday to discuss next steps with the US-Iran agreement on ending the war in the Middle East, according to the White House. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that he had approved the agreement despite reservations, even as the United States lifted a blockade of Iranian ports. 

The signing of the deal on Wednesday by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian set in motion a 60-day period for talks on wider issues between the two foes, including the Iranian nuclear programme. But there was uncertainty over the next steps, and it appeared unlikely that the two sides, who have had no diplomatic relations since soon after the 1979 Islamic revolution, would hold a signing ceremony and talks in Switzerland on Friday as previously announced. 

"The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice-President is not departing tonight," a White House spokesperson said late Thursday. "We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible." In Iran, the Tasnim agency said "nothing has been confirmed" about the Iranian delegation's trip to Switzerland. 

Mojtaba Khamenei, who became supreme leader after his father and longstanding Iran ruler Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war on February 28, said in a written statement that he had approved the deal despite having a "different view", without elaborating. "But I issued my permission due to the commitment" made by officials including Pezeshkian to "protect the rights of the Iranian nation". "Face-to-face negotiations" with the US will be held in the future, but that does not "mean accepting the enemy's point of view", he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)