US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, are heading to Switzerland for expected talks with Iran's foreign minister, following the postponement of earlier US-Iran negotiations.

Axios reported, citing a US official, that Witkoff traveled to the Alpine nation on Friday. CNN noted the trip aims to get technical talks on cementing an initial peace deal “back on track” between Washington and Tehran.

Vice President JD Vance had initially planned to travel but postponed his trip, the White House announced. Kushner is reportedly already in Switzerland.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to travel to Switzerland on Saturday, though plans could change. Sources say Araghchi views a ceasefire in Lebanon as essential to the US-Iran talks, potentially making or breaking the deal.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks killed at least five people in southern Lebanon hours after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. The attacks threaten to derail the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

Article 1 of the MoU explicitly states that ending the war in Lebanon is integral to the broader ceasefire. However, Hezbollah's absence from talks hampers progress, and the June agreement called for Hezbollah's withdrawal but not full Israeli withdrawal.

Source: www.aljazeera.com