US-Iran Switzerland talks hit difficult phase after Trump's fresh threat

Obbuergen,UPDATED: Jun 22, 2026 05:42 IST

High-level talks between the United States and Iran on their interim deal to end the war had a tense start in Switzerland on Sunday, with negotiators expected to work through the night. The discussions, involving US Vice President J D Vance and mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, were complicated after US President Donald Trump threatened fresh military action against Iran and warned its president to watch his words.

The talks are meant to address key issues including Iran's nuclear programme, the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets. But before moving on those issues, Iran wants the focus to be on Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, saying the deal is meant to halt conflict on all fronts.

Trump said on social media, "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!!!" Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher 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 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 negotiating site.

Before the pause, Vance and US negotiators, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had met Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for about 80 minutes, according to Iranian state media. It was not clear when they would meet again. A senior US diplomat involved in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators still expected to work through the night. The diplomat said the talks included clarifying what Iran meant in recent statements about the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiators also discussed "mechanisms" to keep the strait open, ensure a ceasefire in southern Lebanon is enforced, and held "robust" discussions on the nuclear issue.

The negotiators are working within a 60-day push to settle technical details with major implications for the world economy and global security. As the talks opened, Vance said, "The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?" He also asked whether they could "change relations in the Middle East permanently". The US wants Iran to stay in talks over its nuclear programme amid concerns it could be used for military purposes, which Tehran denies. Vance also wants Iran to commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, after Iran said on Saturday that it had closed it, a claim disputed by the US, which said shipping traffic continued on Sunday.

Iran, however, has said Lebanon must come first. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told the state news agency that Tehran wanted the talks to focus first on the conflict there. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to be holding, and Israel's military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the Lebanon border on Monday morning. At the same time, neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the US-Iran deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is removed, while Hezbollah has said it will not stop attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.

The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and opens the way for Iran to access billions of dollars in frozen assets. A member of Iran's negotiating team told state television that draft wording had been reached on "temporary sanctions waivers for oil and petroleum derivatives". The agreement also requires Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites targeted in US strikes a year ago. But Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to Iranian state media, "we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it". Later, in a telephone interview with Fox News, Trump warned that the Iranian president should watch what he says and threatened to take over Iran, according to remarks relayed by a Fox correspondent.

The talks in Switzerland, where Iran has approached the process cautiously after previous nuclear negotiations were twice disrupted by military strikes over the past year, remained uncertain late on Sunday. The main issues on the table were Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and Iran's nuclear programme, even as sharp public exchanges between Washington and Tehran threatened to derail the effort.

With PTI Inputs

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