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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The White House said Thursday night that Vice President JD Vance<\/a> was delaying a trip to Switzerland to lead a new round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program \u2014 raising questions about what’s next for the tentative agreement to end the war. <\/p>\n It said the team lead by Vance had been ready to leave but was postponing, citing difficult logistics for negotiations. The announcement followed a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel\u2019s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.<\/p>\n The postponement came after the U.S. said it had lifted its blockade, allowing oil tankers to begin freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> after months of being unable to use the critical channel. But the initial agreement has drawn sharp criticism from some in the U.S. \u2014 including a few congressional Republicans \u2014 who worry Washington ceded too much to Iran with relief from sanctions and a potential $300 billion fund to help with rebuilding.<\/p>\n Earlier, Vance took the relatively unusual step of appearing at the White House to defend the deal, arguing that while it offers concessions, Iran first has to comply with U.S. demands. <\/p>\n \u201cAs they dial up their good behavior, we can dial up the economic relief,\u201d Vance said. \u201cIf they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.\u201d<\/p>\n The vice president had said during those remarks that he was not sure of the timing of the planned trip to Switzerland, and the postponement makes that even less clear. <\/p>\n A top Trump administration envoy told U.S. lawmakers in a private briefing that Iran will invite the U.N.\u2019s nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites. And Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a> had seemed to endorse direct negotiations for his officials.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy\u2019s opinion,\u201d he said in a statement read by state media.<\/p>\n It was Khamenei\u2019s first reaction to the agreement, and it was interpreted as a shift in Iran\u2019s approach. Hard-liners, especially Khamenei\u2019s father, the previous supreme leader<\/a>, have long opposed direct talks, especially after the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal<\/a> between Iran and world powers.<\/p>\n The supreme leader has not been seen in public since he was wounded in a strike at the start of the war.<\/p>\n The agreement states that Iran\u2019s stockpile of highly enriched uranium must at minimum be diluted under international supervision. It also says that Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons \u2014 a commitment it has made previously.<\/p>\n Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told members of Congress that Iran will invite the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran\u2019s enriched material, which is believed to be buried under rubble.<\/p>\n Witkoff’s private briefing was described by two people familiar with the conversation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to share the closed-door details.<\/p>\n The agreement requires Iran to \u201ccommit to renounce their nuclear ambitions in writing,\u201d said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales. The IAEA did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n Witkoff told congressional leadership and members of national security-related committees that the agreement that the U.S. struck with Iran did not include any side deals, but a side letter was drafted between Tehran and the IAEA extending the invitation.<\/p>\n Witkoff said the letter to IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi would enable him to bring U.S. nuclear inspectors to Tehran.<\/p>\n Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif postponed a planned visit to Switzerland, where Islamabad officials had originally planned to host a ceremonial signing ceremony for the agreement. That visit was postponed because the agreement had already been signed by both Iran and the U.S., said two senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> signed the initial pact with Iran on Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The deal is slated to take immediate effect and extends a ceasefire while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements on larger issues.<\/p>\n Vance, who was initially personally skeptical of the U.S. going to war with Iran<\/a>, has increasingly become the administration\u2019s face of the conflict and has been outspoken in defending the deal. <\/p>\n At the White House on Thursday, he shrugged off criticism about the confusing rollout of the initial deal, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t think our public messaging has been chaotic.”<\/p>\n