Vance sees fresh opening as US-Iran talks resume despite Trump threats

Obburgen,UPDATED: Jun 22, 2026 02:56 IST

US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday there was an opportunity to "turn over a new leaf" with Iran as American and Iranian officials held talks in Switzerland to build on an interim deal reached last week to end the war in Iran. But the negotiations were clouded by fresh warnings from President Donald Trump, who threatened to launch strikes again if Iran backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon or moved to shut the Strait of Hormuz.

The talks brought together Vance and US negotiators with Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at a resort near Lake Lucerne, with Pakistani and Qatari mediators also present. While the discussions were aimed at pushing forward talks on Iran's nuclear programme and keeping the strategic waterway open, sharp exchanges on social media raised fears that the process could be disrupted.

According to Iranian state media, the direct engagement lasted about 80 minutes. The US and Iranian teams also held separate private talks with Pakistani and Qatari officials. The US wants Iran to stay in negotiations over its nuclear programme amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Tehran denies. Vance is also pressing Iran to commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, a route through which about a fifth of the world's traded oil passes.

Even as talks were under way, Trump issued multiple warnings on social media. "Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble," he said. "If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!" Qalibaf responded on X, saying, "They would do better to be careful about their statements. Our armed forces are prepared to respond to them in a different manner. They may keep talking, it is we who act." Iranian state media later said the talks had entered a "difficult phase" and were recessed after the "publication of an insulting message by the US President". It said the Iranian delegation then met Qatari mediators and left the site, although an official familiar with the talks later told AP that the delegation remained engaged and had not indicated any plan to leave.

The interim agreement was signed last week, and senior negotiators are now in a 60-day push to settle technical details with major implications for the world economy and global security. Vance, as the talks began, said, "The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?" He added, "Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently, or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but is certainly very much something that can happen."

Iran, however, wants to focus first on the conflict in Lebanon. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that the team's negotiations were expected to focus on the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Days after the agreement was signed, it came under strain as fighting in Lebanon escalated and Iran's military announced that it had again closed the waterway, though a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon brokered on Saturday appeared to be holding. US Central Command disputed Iran's claim that it had shut the strait and said US forces were continuing to monitor the situation to ensure traffic flowed normally. Vance has said millions of barrels of oil have moved through the strait in recent days.

Under the agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Pezeshkian, Iran can immediately sell its oil freely and move towards accessing billions of dollars in frozen assets. The deal also calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites targeted in US strikes last summer. But Pezeshkian has insisted that Iran will keep its right to enrich uranium. On Sunday, he repeated that position, saying, "What is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it." Trump, in a telephone interview with Fox News, also warned that the Iranian president should watch what he says and threatened to take over the rest of the country, according to comments relayed by a Fox correspondent.

Baghaei said Iran had approached the talks cautiously because earlier nuclear negotiations with the US had twice been interrupted over the past year by major military strikes on the country. "The implementation of any document is more important than its signing," he said. Vance had been due to arrive at the Brgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but his departure was delayed after the fighting in Lebanon intensified and Iranian officials cancelled plans to attend. He was joined in Switzerland by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who had already been discussing technical aspects of the talks. Vance said he expected to stay in Switzerland for only "a day or two", leaving much of the detailed negotiations to Witkoff and Kushner.

The deal has also drawn criticism within Trump's own party, with Republican hardliners comparing it unfavourably with the Obama-era nuclear agreement that Trump and the Republicans have long argued did not end Iran's nuclear programme. The agreement allows commercial vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without charge, though it does not rule out future fees by Iran. On Saturday, Trump said he could impose US tolls if there was no agreement within 60 days, saying on social media that the money would be for "services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East." The Trump administration has been trying to calm markets amid complaints in the US that the conflict pushed up petrol prices before the peak summer travel season. Oil futures fell nearly 8 per cent after the White House announced the deal last week, and markets were expected to closely track the talks when trading resumed on Sunday evening.

The negotiations in Switzerland are therefore moving ahead under pressure from military tensions, political criticism and market concerns. While the US and Iran are trying to build on last week's interim deal, differences over Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's uranium enrichment programme continue to test the process, even as both sides remain at the table.

With PTI Inputs

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