President Donald Trump threatened to restart American military attacks on Iran on Sunday, even as Vice President JD Vance sat in direct negotiations with Iranian officials in Switzerland. Trump’s warning on his Truth Social platform and to Fox News contrasted sharply with the tone of Vance, who said the president had asked him to use the talks to turn over a “new leaf” with Iran.
Iran has again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments, in response to ongoing Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. Speaking to Fox News, Trump warned that if Iran closed the strait, “You won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your fucking country.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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!!!” The apparent reference to the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon came as U.S. and Iranian delegations gathered in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, for the first round of direct talks since an initial deal.
Vance, who had earlier hailed progress in the negotiations, said Trump instructed him to pursue a diplomatic opening. But Trump’s remarks prompted the Iranian negotiators to walk out of the high-stakes discussions in protest. Iranian state media described the negotiation as having entered a “difficult phase” after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president.” The Iranian delegation met with Qatari mediators and then left the negotiating site, according to reports.
Despite the walkout, high-level negotiations continued into the early hours of Monday. Pakistan and Qatar said technical talks between the two sides would continue for the rest of the week. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, praised Pakistan and Qatar for their mediation, stating that they “delivered major progress.”