The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, has stated that the Pakistani Prime Minister and mediator in the dialogue between Iran and the United States, Shehbaz Sharif, will ultimately not travel to Switzerland as planned, and that the meeting between the delegations "has been canceled" after Washington and Tehran electronically signed their memorandum of understanding last Wednesday.
"Given that the signing was completed remotely this morning following the signing by the presidents of the United States and Iran, followed by the signing by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as mediator, tomorrow's (Friday's) ceremony has been canceled," Dar stated in a declaration broadcast to the Pakistani channel Dawn, in which he emphasized that "yes, it has been canceled." The delegations from Washington and Tehran, along with the mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, were scheduled to formalize the document this Friday at a tourist complex in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs had indicated the previous day that the meeting was still on "for the initial negotiations on the implementation of the agreement." However, the scenario changed following the statements by the Pakistani minister and the fact that the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, has also not undertaken travel to Swiss territory.
"Plans for the upcoming technical talks have not yet been finalized, and the US delegation was prepared to depart as soon as possible," the White House explained in a statement sent to US media outlets such as the news portal The Hill. In the same statement, the US administration pointed out that "the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable" and that the vice president would not depart on Thursday night (early Friday morning in Spain).
The White House added that it will inform "as soon as" it has "concrete news on the next steps" and reiterated its intention for "technical talks" to commence "as soon as possible."
In parallel, the Al Mayadeen channel, citing a source familiar with the situation, reported that the delegation from Iran has also suspended its travel to Switzerland. According to this media outlet, the decision would be linked to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which reportedly occurred again during the last night. However, Iranian authorities have not yet issued any official communication in this regard.