U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened renewed strikes against Iran, even as Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials in Switzerland for the first talks under an interim peace deal aimed at halting hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The talks, held at the Qatari-owned Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, brought together U.S. and Iranian delegations alongside mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. Helicopters circled the mountaintop venue as officials gathered for a meeting overshadowed by Iran’s announcement that it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz.
The memorandum of understanding, agreed last week, called for the reopening of the strait and a halt to hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel launched an invasion in March. Tehran says Washington has failed to secure an end to Israeli military operations there, and that talks will not move to wider issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, until the Lebanon front is quiet.
“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, referring to Hezbollah and to the earlier U.S. escalation he ordered this month.
Fox News also reported that Trump said he had warned Iranian officials that if they closed the strait, “you won’t have a country,” and threatened to take control of the waterway.
Vance, however, sought to present a calmer message from the Swiss talks, saying progress had been made toward ending the fighting in Lebanon.
“These things are always a little bit messy,” he told reporters, adding that Trump had asked his team “to turn over a new leaf” in relations with the Iranian people.
There was no joint photo opportunity between the U.S. and Iranian delegations. Before Vance spoke, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi briefly entered the room and embraced Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is acting as a mediator. Araqchi did not interact with Vance.
Iran says Lebanon fighting forced strait closure
Iran said on Saturday it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz because fighting in Lebanon had not stopped, despite the announcement of a new ceasefire on Friday.
U.S. officials disputed that the strait was shut, saying merchant shipping continued to move through the waterway. U.S. Central Command said 55 merchant ships crossed the strait on Saturday.
However, commercially available shipping data showed an immediate slowdown. Only one small tanker crossed with its location transponder switched on after Iran’s announcement, compared with dozens of vessels in recent days as traffic began returning toward pre-war levels.
Iran’s Fars news agency cited a military source as saying no new permits were being issued for ships to cross until further notice. Shipping companies have said throughout the war that crossing the strait without Iranian permission remains too dangerous.
Tehran says the next phase of negotiations, including talks on its nuclear programme, cannot begin until fighting in Lebanon ends and Iran receives the initial economic benefits promised under the memorandum.
Oil markets brace for Monday reaction
The renewed closure announcement came over the weekend, when global markets were closed, delaying any immediate effect on oil prices until Monday.
The Strait of Hormuz had been closed for nearly four months during the war, causing the largest disruption to global energy supplies in history. Trump has said he agreed to last week’s memorandum to prevent high oil prices from triggering a global economic crisis.
Oil prices fell sharply over the past week after the agreement was announced, reaching their lowest levels since the start of the war.
Before leaving for Switzerland, Vance said he hoped to make progress on the nuclear issue. But Iranian state media later reported that the nuclear programme had not been discussed.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Washington had not guaranteed a ceasefire in Lebanon, meaning Sunday’s meeting would focus only on implementing the memorandum, rather than moving to the next phase of negotiations.
Under the memorandum, the parties are expected to hold 60 days of talks on issues including curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Iran is also seeking early economic relief, including sanctions waivers and access to frozen assets.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, quoted by Fars, said the talks could create a basis for economic growth, adding that the first goal was to restore access to some of Iran’s blocked funds.
Quietest day in Lebanon after heavy strikes
Sunday appeared to be one of the quietest days in Lebanon in recent weeks, with no major violence reported by nightfall after two days of heavy Israeli strikes and Hezbollah fire on Israeli positions.
More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon since Israel’s March invasion, launched after Hezbollah fired across the border in support of Tehran.
Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, as residents returned to homes they had fled. Some stood beside cars backed up on the highway and waved Hezbollah flags.
Lebanese authorities said 20 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday.
The Lebanese army said specialised units were still working to dismantle unexploded Israeli bombs weighing 1,000 and 2,000 pounds that had been dropped on southern towns.