Israel Ceasefire as Vice President Vance Delays Meeting

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the Middle East. Vice President JD Vance delayed his trip to Switzerland for further peace deal talks with Iran. Meanwhile, Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire in Lebanon.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal:

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a renewed ceasefire Friday, U.S. officials said, after talks between the U.S. and Iran were postponed amid intensified fighting in Lebanon.

The violence had threatened to derail progress after an agreement was reached earlier in the week to stop the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire was set to begin at 4 p.m. local time, the officials said.

The White House said Thursday that Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the U.S. negotiating team, wouldn’t be traveling to Switzerland to meet Iranian counterparts as planned. The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed talks were postponed and said it stands ready to facilitate should they resume.

Iran told mediators that Israeli strikes were a breach of the preliminary agreement and that they were seeking guarantees that they would end before negotiations could start, according to Iranian and Arab officials. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the U.S. was directly responsible for the situation and warned of serious consequences for regional security, according to Iranian state media.

It isn’t clear when the talks might resume. On Friday, Trump wrote on social media: “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has become a major sticking point in negotiations and driven a wedge between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, his most important ally. Their interests have diverged as Netanyahu seeks to keep up pressure on Iran and Hezbollah, while Trump looks for a way out of the war.

So just hours after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), while we were asleep here in America, more violence broke out in the Middle East. Hezbollah conducted strikes against Israel, killing four IDF soldiers. Israel responded in turn with strikes of their own. And now, as a result, Iran is making concerning statements about the current peace deal, somehow blaming the U.S. for the strikes.

For the time being, both sides – Iran and Hezbollah – have agreed to a ceasefire, but it’s unclear if the attacks were a factor in Vice President Vance postponing his plans to meet with Iranian representatives in Switzerland, and what that means for the MOU and any further agreements.

ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, and former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo joined the broadcast today and brought his unique insight as a man who has experience dealing with Iran. Sec. Pompeo shared his thoughts regarding the MOU and his concerns about whether Iran will honor it:

Three things I think are worth thinking about for everyone who’s listening. First, we’ve made more progress taking down the Islamic Republic of Iran than we have made in the last 40 years, and President Trump should be credited for that. They are in a militarily weaker position, a politically weaker position, economically weaker position – good stuff.

Second, we should see if they’ve turned over a new leaf. I don’t see it. The regime seems to me to be implacable, unchangeable, theocratic thugs. I don’t see them honoring any deal that they signed. You can already begin to see it. Hezbollah didn’t move without the Iranian government’s approval.

And then finally, one of the challenges for the Administration is a direct result of what they’ve done. Iran’s leadership is fractured.

I’m sure there are multiple views on what they ought to do next, and you see that one guy signs a deal, another guy cuts a video saying we want to go kill every American. So, a very complicated situation and one that we need to see play out. I hope that we’re ready to do the necessary and force the Strait [of Hormuz] open and not let the Iranians make a single nickel off of the terror regime that they’ve created.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and more details about Vice President Vance’s now-postponed meeting with Iran that was supposed to take place in Switzerland.

Watch the full broadcast below: