The US special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, is travelling to Switzerland in an effort to restart direct talks with Iran, after scheduled negotiations were postponed late last week, according to US officials and American media. His journey follows the remote signing on 17 June of a 14-point memorandum of understanding by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, which pledges to end the military conflict that began with US–Israeli strikes on 28 February and gives both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive settlement. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is already in the alpine country, while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to join, though Tehran has warned its participation could still change.

Viewed from Washington, the White House aims to convert the initial memorandum—which commits to a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, the lifting of the US naval blockade, sanctions relief, and compensation for war damage—into a binding pact covering Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. US Vice‑President J.D. Vance had been slated to lead the delegation but postponed his departure after Switzerland’s foreign ministry announced the talks were off, a move linked by sources familiar with the discussions to the surge in Israeli–Hezbollah violence in Lebanon. The White House has conceded that the logistics of such negotiations “are never simple or predictable.”

From the Iranian side, officials have long demanded the complete removal of sanctions and recognition of Tehran’s right to enrich uranium, framing the nuclear issue as a national sovereignty matter. Araghchi has also conditioned further talks on a verified end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, a point underscored by Iranian diplomats in contacts with European and regional intermediaries. Within Iran, suspicion persists that the US might use negotiations as a pretext for renewed attacks, a fear rooted in previous cycles of escalation. Regional dynamics were a direct factor in the postponement: the announcement that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah had been reached on 20 June cleared a path for Witkoff’s trip, though no new date for formal plenary sessions has yet been set.

European perspectives, particularly from host nation Switzerland, are shaped by Bern’s insistence on neutrality. Swiss authorities have suspended arms exports to the United States and closed their airspace to US military flights bound for the Middle East, while still providing a venue for dialogue. The memorandum itself is a framework agreement: it enshrines an end to the war that began with the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in February, establishes a 60‑day timeline for final agreements, and sets deadlines for the lifting of the naval blockade and the restoration of free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. With Kushner already on the ground and Witkoff en route, the immediate next step is expected to be a round of technical-level mapping sessions, though the broader political track remains contingent on sustained calm in Lebanon and reciprocal confidence-building gestures from both Washington and Tehran.