A White House spokesperson on Thursday (local time) announced that US Vice President JD Vance will not depart for Switzerland as planned, since the technical talks have not been finalised. The spokesperson confirmed that a delegation is prepared to leave at the earliest opportunity.
"As the Vice President said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks have not been finalised, and the US delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity. But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," the spokesperson stated.
"As of now, the Vice President is not departing tonight. We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible," they added.
During a press briefing earlier in the day, Vance highlighted that 12.5 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iranian presidents signed a peace plan to end the conflict.
"The president's peace plan in Iran is already bearing real fruits for the American people. Last night, 12.5 million barrels of oil went through the Strait of Hormuz. That is a high since the beginning of the conflict. Oil prices are down nearly at their level from the pre-war conflict. Gas prices dropped below $4 a gallon today for the first time since the conflict. And importantly, they're going to keep falling further given how low oil prices are," Vance said.
Vance emphasised that the US will not provide any financial aid to Iran under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). He clarified that Iran would only benefit after fully complying and altering its behaviour.
"The part of the peace plan, the part of this MoU that I think has been most misrepresented by certain parts of the media, is the idea that the Iranians get all these benefits. You will hear things about $300 billion or $24 billion or this or that number of money or amount of money. The simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources--not a single penny, by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstances--but the only way that they would ever get any benefit of the bargain is if they comply fully and change their behaviour," the US vice president said.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, speaking at a Medal of Honour Ceremony, noted that stock markets reached an all-time high following the peace deal.
"I just want to say, though, the stock market just hit a new all-time high. Oil is dropping like a rock. Other than that, it's another day in paradise. I have no higher privilege than serving as the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces. I'm so proud of them. A 250-year tradition of the bravest and greatest heroes ever to walk the earth," he said.
The United States and Iran were scheduled to hold their first round of talks after the ceasefire agreement, signed virtually on Wednesday (June 17) by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as reported by Reuters on Thursday, citing the Swiss government.
