‘Hit Iran Very Hard Again’: Trump Threatens Iran Amid JD Vance’s Switzerland Peace Talks

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to resume military action against Iran even as Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials for the first talks under an interim peace deal, with the meeting overshadowed by Tehran’s announcement that it had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz. The talks, held at the Qatari-owned mountaintop resort of Buergenstock in Switzerland, marked the first meeting under the terms of a memorandum of understanding agreed a week earlier.

First Talks Held Under Interim Agreement

The memorandum calls for the reopening of the strait and a halt to all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where US ally Israel launched an invasion in March. However, Iran argued that Washington had failed to uphold its commitment to stop the fighting in Lebanon and said it had therefore closed the strait again. Tehran also stated that Sunday’s discussions would not address substantive matters such as its nuclear programme.

‘Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!’ Trump said, apparently referring to Iran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon and an escalation he ordered earlier this month.

Trump Issues Warning As Talks Begin

Fox News reported that Trump went further in an interview, saying he had told Iranian officials if they closed the strait, ‘you won’t have a country’, while also threatening to take over the waterway. At the Switzerland meeting, where US and Iranian representatives gathered in the presence of Qatari mediators, Vance downplayed the significance of continued violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made toward ending hostilities there.

Vance calls for a new chapter

‘These things are always a little bit messy,’ he said. Even as Trump issued fresh warnings toward Iran, Vance told reporters the US president had ‘asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran’.

No Joint Appearance By Both Sides

The opposing delegations did not participate in a joint photo opportunity during the talks. Before Vance made his remarks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi briefly entered the room and embraced Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a mediator. Araqchi did not interact with Vance, who remained at the back of the room.

Despite the announcement of a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday, there has been little indication that the fighting has truly ended. Iran said on Saturday that it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz because of the ongoing conflict, after its nearly four-month closure caused the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history. US officials disputed Iran’s claim that the strait was closed, but commercially available shipping data indicated an immediate effect.

Shipping Traffic Shows Immediate Impact

Only one small tanker crossed the waterway with its location-signalling transponders switched on after Iran’s announcement, compared with dozens of vessels recently when traffic had begun returning to pre-war levels. Iran’s Fars news agency cited a military source as saying on Sunday that no new permits were being issued for ships to cross until further notice. Throughout the conflict, shipping companies have maintained that it is too dangerous to pass through without Iran’s permission.

Iran said the next phase of negotiations, including discussions over its nuclear programme, could not begin until the fighting in Lebanon ends and the country receives the promised economic benefits.

As with several major developments affecting the global economy during the conflict, Iran’s weekend announcement that it had closed the strait again came while financial markets were shut, delaying any reaction in oil prices until Monday. Trump said he supported last week’s memorandum of understanding to prevent a global economic depression driven by soaring oil prices caused by the closure of the strait. Oil prices had fallen sharply over the previous week to their lowest levels since the war began.

Iran Says Nuclear Programme Not Discussed

Vance said before departing that he hoped to make progress on the nuclear issue. However, after Sunday’s meeting, Iranian state media reported that the meeting had not discussed Iran’s nuclear programme. Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that because Washington had failed to guarantee a ceasefire in Lebanon, the meeting would focus only on implementing the memorandum itself rather than the substantive issues planned for later negotiations.

The memorandum envisions 60 days of negotiations on matters including curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Before those issues are settled, Iran expects to receive early economic benefits, including sanctions waivers and the release of frozen assets. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, quoted by Fars, expressed optimism that the US talks could lay a strong foundation for economic growth. He said the first objective of the negotiations was restoring access to some of Iran’s blocked assets.

Sunday appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon recently, with no reports of major violence by nightfall following two days of heavy Israeli strikes and Hezbollah fire on Israeli positions. More than a million people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon since March due to Israel’s invasion targeting Hezbollah fighters who launched cross-border attacks in support of Tehran.

In what could be viewed as a positive development, Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon observed some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to homes they had previously fled. Some stood beside vehicles that had backed up on highways while they waved Hezbollah flags. Lebanese authorities said 20 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday. The army added on Sunday that specialised units were continuing efforts to dismantle unexploded Israeli bombs weighing 1,000 and 2,000 pounds that had been dropped on southern towns.

(Inputs From Reuters)

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