New posts
08:33
Swiss Foreign Ministry: Planned US-Iran Talks Called Off
Talks between the United States and Iran that were scheduled for June 19 in the Swiss resort town of Burgenstock won’t take place as planned, according to astatementissued by Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry on June 19.
“The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed,” the statement said.
“Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing. No further information can be provided at present,” it added.
The announcement followed comments from a White House spokesperson overnight indicating that US Vice President JD Vance had canceled a planned trip to Switzerland, where he was expected to meet with Iranian negotiators to start talks on a peace agreement to end their war.
The White House cited logistical challenges as the reason for postponing Vance’s trip.
The meeting had been scheduled just two days after the leaders of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining steps to end the war in the Middle East. A 60-day period for talks on the broader peace agreement began on June 18.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
03:59
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We’ll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
03:51
Vance Delays Trip To Switzerland For Iran Talks — ‘Logistics’ Cited
Citing “logistics” issues, the White House said Vice President JD Vance has postponed a trip to Switzerland for direct talks with Iran originally scheduled for June 19, two days after the two countries’ presidents signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) toward ending the Middle East war.
“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” a White House spokesperson was quoted by AFP as saying late on June 18.
“As of now the vice president is not departing tonight. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”
US Vice President JD Vance, who held a press briefing on June 18, has delayed his trip to Geneva for Iran talks, the White House later said.
It was not immediately clear if the start of the talks themselves would also be delayed, but dpa news agency quoted a White House spokesman as saying plans for the upcoming talks had not yet been finalized.
Iran’s Tasnim agency said that “nothing has been confirmed” about the Tehran delegation’s trip to Switzerland. Iran media cited unconfirmed reports that Tehran had delayed sending its own team because of ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump and Iranian counterpart Masud Pezeshkian signed the framework deal on June 17 aimed at ending nearly four months of war.
Under the interim agreement, Tehran and Washington have 60 days to reach a final settlement, including limits to Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of US sanctions on the Islamic republic. It also included a demand by Iran that Israel cease attacks in Lebanon.
In a June 18 press briefing, Vance told reporters that the 60-day window for the United States and Iran to reach a final settlement had already begun.
“I would say the 60-day period officially started today,” Vance said.
Originally, it was suggested that a signing ceremony would be held on June 19 in Geneva, with Vance likely attending for the US side, along with senior diplomats from both countries.
However, Trump and Pezeshkian unexpectedly signed the MOU digitally on June 17.
Attention then turned to what were expected to be technical talks in Geneva, where negotiators will attempt to convert the MOU into a detailed implementation plan.
“The meeting this weekend in Switzerland will be quite critical,” the senior US official said, adding that any failure by either side to meet expectations should become apparent “within days or weeks, not months.”
With reporting by AFP and dpaShare
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
20:03
18.6.2026
Iran’s Supreme Leader Accepted US Deal Despite Having ‘Different View’
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he initially disagreed with the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States but accepted it after assurances from Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian.
“As a matter of principle, I held a different view,” Khamenei said in a written message issued on June 18.
A woman walks next to a banner with a picture of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on May 8.
“Nevertheless in light of the commitment given to me by the esteemed President, in his capacity as Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council on behalf of himself and the other members, to safeguard the rights of the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front, and his explicit acceptance of responsibility in this regard, I authorized it.”
“He [Pezeshkian] has also made it clear that, should the American side seek to make excessive demands, they [meaning Iranians] will not submit to them,” the written message said.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since he succeeded his father as supreme leader on March 8. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli air strike on February 28.
Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump signed the framework deal on June 17 aimed at ending nearly four months of war.
Under the interim agreement, Tehran and Washington have 60 days to reach a final settlement, including limits to Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of US sanctions on the Islamic republic.
“From this moment onward, we, that is, you, the proud nation, and this humble servant, shall await the fulfilment of the conditions that have been set out,” Khamenei said in the written message.
“It is self-evident that any face-to-face negotiations that may take place in the future should not be construed as acceptance of the enemy’s position.”
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
19:31
18.6.2026
US Confirms End Of Naval Blockade Of Iran
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that the naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports has been lifted.
“All U.S. military blockade enforcement efforts have ceased,” CENTCOM said in apost on X. “Our great Naval Ships will remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.”
The United States imposed the naval blockade in mid-April with the aim of preventing Iran from exporting its oil, the lifeline of its economy.
Washington’s lifting of the naval blockade and Tehran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies, are part of a framework deal signed on June 17.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
19:17
18.6.2026
60 Days Of Negotiations Begin ‘Today,’ Says Vance
US Vice President JD Vance takes questions from reporters during a press briefing at the White House on June 18.
US Vice President JD Vance said a 60-day window for the United States and Iran to reach a final settlement began on June 18.
“I would say the 60-day period officially started today,” Vance told reporters at a White House briefing, a day after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the nearly four-month-long conflict.
The interim deal gives Washington and Tehran two months to reach a full agreement, including over Iran’s nuclear program and US sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Asked what would stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in the future, Vance said Tehran would need “a lot of money” after the United States destroyed “billions” worth of nuclear infrastructure.
He said the United States has Iran in an “economic chokehold” that “we’re not going to release until they fundamentally change their behavior.”
“What would that look like? That would mean a real inspections regime. That would mean a real enforcement regime,” Vance said, adding that the change in behavior would also mean the destruction of the country’s enriched uranium stockpile.
The US vice president also said the framework deal was already “bearing real fruit for the American people,” adding that around 12.5 million barrels of oil has flowed through the Strait of Hormuz after the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
He said Iran has not fired on any vessels moving through the strait, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies that Tehran effectively closed after the war began on February 28. The United States, he added, has allowed about a dozen ships to pass through the US naval blockade.
On the possibility of Iran imposing tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said international waterways should be free of tolls and that Washington does not want the strait to be used as a “chokepoint” for the global economy again.
Vance said a final peace deal would set the terms for the strait.
He claimed the United States had “all the cards” in negotiations and Iran would have to “give us the things that are necessary” to get the benefits of the peace deal.
Vance claimed Tehran’s nuclear program and military are “still destroyed,” and Iran was unable to “threaten” its neighbors.
Vance also said part of the interim deal has been “misrepresented,” in apparent reference to the $300 billion reconstruction fund that Iran could access as part of the agreement.
He added that “not a single penny” will be sent by the United States to Iran. Tehran will only benefit from the deal “if they comply fully and change their behavior,” he said.
Vance was also asked about the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The framework deal calls for an end to all hostilities, including in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
“This is about regional peace,” Vance said. He added that Washington expects Hezbollah to stop firing at Israel, and that the Israelis “are not going to be going wild in Lebanon.”
He added that “sometimes these cease-fires are a little messy.” There has been “radical progress,” he said, in bringing that conflict to an end, but there will be “little flare-ups from time to time.”
Referring to Trump’s recent criticism of Israel’s actions in Lebanon, Vance said Washington does not want to withdraw Israel’s right to self-defense. But he said that Israel “just like everyone else, has to defend this peace process.”
“We seem to be right on the cusp of a major breakthrough in the agreement and then all of a sudden there’s a major explosion that goes off in a civilian population center in Beirut,” Vance said. “That’s not acceptable.”
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
18:24
18.6.2026
Iran Deal Provides Economic Boost, But Hormuz Shipping Is Key
Vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on June 18.
TheIran framework agreementgave an immediate boost to markets, with shares rising and oil prices dipping. But whether this translates into durable economic gains will largely depend on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
There were signs of traffic beginning to revive on June 18 in the hours immediately after the US and Iranian presidents signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, according to Windward, a maritime intelligence company.
Speaking in an online briefing, Windward chief analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann said 18 vessels had transited the strait between 6 p.m. on June 17 and 2 p.m. UTC on June 18, in what she described as “a sign of confidence in the agreement.”
Ben Cahill, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, indicated that this trickle needs to grow if the hope of an economic peace dividend is to be realized.
“It’s all about tanker traffic. Agreements on paper don’t matter much unless they really get oil moving again through the Strait of Hormuz, because that’s what everyone will be monitoring — the number of tankers exiting the strait to carry oil, gas, and other products to market,” he told RFE/RL.
To read the full news analysis, clickhere.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
15:08
18.6.2026
Shipping Monitor Reports 18 Hormuz Transits Since Deal Signed
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 16.
There have been signs of shipping beginning to revive in the Strait of Hormuz in the hours since the US and Iranian presidents signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, according to Windward, a maritime intelligence company.
Speaking in an online briefing, Windward chief analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann said 18 vessels had transited the strait between 6 p.m. on June 17 and 2 p.m. UTC on June 18, in what she described as “a sign of confidence in the agreement.”
Specifically, she said these were a French-flagged liquid natural gas (LNG) tanker, two Hong Kong-flagged tankers, an Italian-flagged vehicles carrier, a Japanese-controlled oil tanker, and several Saudi-flagged tankers.
Ten of the vessels were outbound, having been stuck in the Persian Gulf for 109 days owing to the war that began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.
“What’s important now is what’s going out. So, it’s going to start as a trickle, but certainly this is a very good sign, an early sign that there is confidence for outbound transits,” Wiese Bockmann said.
“Transits averaged about seven vessels a day in the first two weeks of June until we had word of this agreement coming on Sunday. And the total volume of transit so far in June already exceeds the 156 that we saw in May that we tracked. So, certainly we see everything gathering force,” she added.
Windward also tracked Iranian vessels moving through the strait, and also Iranian-controlled LNG and oil tankers heading west from southeast Asia through the Malacca Straits — apparently confident of being able to load up in Iranian ports now that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and waters has been lifted.
Under the deal signed on June 17, Iran has agreed to toll-free transit through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days, pending further talks with US negotiators.
Bockmann said the southern route through the strait is in Omani waters, and that once this was demined the question of a toll became unimportant. Tehran has spoken of imposing “maritime service fees” in cooperation with Oman, but Bockmann said, “I really don’t think that’s going to fly.”
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
14:57
18.6.2026
Trump Defends Iran Deal, Calls Critics ‘Jealous Or Stupid’
US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has defended the peace agreement with Iran ahead of talks in Switzerland on implementing the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, and attacked critics of the deal.
Writing on his Truth Social platform on June 18, a day after signing the agreement,Trump said: “These fools, who think I havent been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are tumbling down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid.”
Since Iran and the United States announced that they had reached an agreement to end the war on June 17, oil prices have fallen sharply on global markets while stock prices have risen in many parts of the world, while US stock indexes have hit record levels.
Continuing that trend, crude oil prices fell by more than 3 percent on June 18, with West Texas Intermediate crude dropping below $75 per barrel.
At the same time, criticism of the agreement has intensified in the United States, with some Republican politicians questioning its terms. Reactions in Israel have also been largely negative.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
14:24
18.6.2026
Trump’s Iran Accord And The 2015 Nuclear Deal: What’s Different This Time?
The presidents of the United States and Iran sign a framework agreement on June 17 in a step toward talks on a full peace settlement.
TheUS-Iranian dealto end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is inevitably being compared with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed with Tehran by then US PresidentBarrack Obama.
That deal was fiercely criticized by his successor, Donald Trump, who pulled the United States out of it in 2018 during his first term of office. Trump has repeatedly said his deal would be better, although the text he signed in Versailles is not the final one — it leaves many issues to be negotiated over the next 60 (or more) days.
If it were easy we would have resolved it, you know, two wars ago, Naysan Rafati, Iran Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL, referring both to the12-Day Warin June last year and to this years hostilities, that reignited with US and Israeli air strikes on February 28.
The fundamentals of the Iranian nuclear program since last June have been different to what they were like under the JCPOA, he added.
Read morehere
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
Load more
