Against the backdrop of the postponed signing ceremony in Switzerland for a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, Middle East expert Yoni Ben Menachem assessed that behind the cancellation of the delegations’ arrival lies a political drama that may be connected to developments in Lebanon and the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah.
According to him, it’s important to pay attention not only to what is happening, but also to what isn’t happening. “The Iranian delegation isn’t coming, and US Vice President JD Vance also canceled his trip citing technical reasons, but there’s drama behind the scenes here,” he said.
Ben Menachem presented several possible explanations for the move. One is that the head of the Iranian delegation, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, doesn’t want to be photographed alongside Vance. “From their perspective, the United States hasn’t changed, it’s still ‘the Great Satan,'” he explained.
Another possibility he raised relates to the Lebanese arena. According to him, Tehran may be trying to use the postponement of the signing as a pressure tool against Washington and Jerusalem. “It could be that they’re doing a show of force here regarding Hezbollah, so that the United States will pressure Israel,” he said.
The assessment comes against the backdrop of the canceled delegations’ arrival for talks in Switzerland, and the wave of Israeli Air Force strikes overnight in southern Lebanon. According to Ben Menachem, Iran claims that the ceasefire in Lebanon is an integral part of the understandings with the United States, and therefore the continued fighting may serve as grounds for them to apply political pressure.