US envoy headed for Switzerland, Israeli strikes on Lebanon threaten talks

US media are reporting that Witkoff and Kushner are preparing for negotiations with Iran after talks were postponed on Thursday.US envoys and Iran’s foreign minister are expected in Switzerland for talks on cementing a peace deal, but more Israeli strikes in Lebanon are putting pressure on the agreement.Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the United States President Donald Trump, were headed for Switzerland, US media reported on Friday, after scheduled negotiations between the US and Iran there were postponed.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran ‘ready to move forward’ with US deal, says Israel must abide by termslist 2 of 4Israel kills ‘a child a day’ on average in Gaza despite ceasefire, UN sayslist 3 of 4US announces new round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington next weeklist 4 of 4Does Trump have to submit the Iran memorandum of understanding to Congress?end of listWitkoff was on his way to the Alpine nation on Friday, Axios said, quoting an unnamed US official, while CNN reported his trip comes as Washington and Iran work to get technical talks that follow up on an initial peace deal “back on track”.Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner was also expected to be in Switzerland for talks, CNN said, quoting a US official. Axios said he was already there.Vice President JD Vance had initially been expected to travel but postponed his trip, the White House announced late on Thursday.Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to travel to Switzerland on Saturday, although those plans could still change, according to sources quoted by Axios.Citing a source from one of the mediating countries, the report also said Araghchi told several counterparts that Iran views a ceasefire in Lebanon as essential to the diplomatic process and that it could “make or break” the Iran-talks" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="119740" data-entity-type="event">US-Iran talks.Another source said Iranian officials want to see a ceasefire take hold before heading to Switzerland.No new date for the negotiations has been announced.Five killed in Israeli strikes on LebanonWhile news from Switzerland filtered through, at least five people were killed in Israeli ⁠air strikes and drone attacks in southern Lebanon, just hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group took effect.