The White House announced late on Thursday that Vance would not be travelling to the talks and said the logistics had not been "simple or predictable". It comes a day after the US dropped its naval blockade of Iran after the two countries signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict.

While the deal also said fighting should end in Lebanon, the country's health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed at least 18 people in the south overnight. Israel's military said it had targeted the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, and that four of its own soldiers had been killed. Hours before the White House issued its statement, Hezbollah-linked Lebanese media reported that the talks had been suspended due to ongoing Israeli air strikes. Negotiators had been due to meet for what US officials described as "technical discussions" on the next steps of the agreement signed earlier this week. But Washington said plans for the talks had "not been finalised". It added that the US looked forward to "beginning technical talks as soon as possible". (BBC)