President Donald Trump threatened new Iran strikes Sunday as Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials in Switzerland for the first talks under a fragile interim peace deal, with the negotiations overshadowed by Tehran’s claim that it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. The talks at the Buergenstock resort near Lake Lucerne included U.S., Iranian, Qatari and Pakistani officials as Washington sought to keep the waterway open and move Iran toward nuclear negotiations.
Trump Iran strikes warning overshadows talks
Trump warned Iran to rein in Hezbollah-linked forces in Lebanon or face renewed U.S. military action. In a social media post, he said Iran must stop its proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble and added that the United States would hit Iran very hard again if it did not.
The warning came as Vance was meeting Iranian negotiators at the Lake Lucerne Summit. The U.S. delegation included Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Iran’s side included parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar were also present.
The talks marked the first direct engagement under the interim agreement signed last week to end the U.S.-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement also sets up a 60-day negotiating window on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, but Iran said the next phase could not begin until fighting in Lebanon stops and promised economic benefits begin to materialize.
Vance struck a softer tone than Trump. He said there was an opportunity to turn over a new leaf with Iran and asked whether the two countries could change relations in the Middle East permanently.
Iran says Hormuz is closed again
Iran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again because Washington had failed to enforce a halt to fighting in Lebanon. Tehran said Israel’s continued attacks violated the memorandum’s requirement for a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.
U.S. officials disputed Iran’s closure claim, but shipping data showed a sharp immediate effect. Reuters reported that only a single small tanker crossed the waterway with its transponder on after Iran’s announcement, compared with dozens of vessels in recent days as traffic had started returning toward prewar levels.
Iran’s Fars news agency cited a military source saying no new permits were being issued for ships to cross until further notice. Shipping firms have said throughout the war that crossing without Iranian permission is too dangerous.
U.S. Central Command said commercial ship traffic increased through the Strait of Hormuz on June 20 and that safe passage remained intact. CENTCOM said 55 merchant ships transited the waterway that day, moving cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets.
The latest talks are tied directly to the same Strait of Hormuz dispute that has tested Trump’s interim deal and raised fresh questions for global oil markets.
Vance pushes nuclear talks
The U.S. objective in Switzerland is to move Iran into detailed negotiations over its nuclear program while securing Tehran’s commitment to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Washington wants Iran locked into talks over nuclear activity that the U.S. fears could be used for military purposes, a charge Iran denies.
Iran, however, signaled that Lebanon would come first. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said ahead of the meeting that Iran’s team was focused on the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. Iranian state media said the direct engagement lasted about 80 minutes.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not back down from what it calls its right to enrich uranium. That position leaves the Trump administration facing the same central dispute that has defined U.S.-Iran nuclear diplomacy for years: whether Iran will accept limits strong enough to satisfy Washington and its regional allies.
The deal has already drawn criticism from Republican hard-liners who say it risks giving Tehran sanctions relief without fully ending Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement allows Iran to sell oil freely and opens the door for Iran to access frozen assets, while calling for Tehran to dilute highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under sites hit by U.S. strikes last summer.
Lebanon fighting tests the deal
The interim agreement is being stress-tested by fighting in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah remain outside the U.S.-Iran deal. Israel has said it will keep forces in southern Lebanon until threats from Hezbollah are removed, while Hezbollah has refused to stop attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawal.
Iran has made the Lebanon ceasefire a condition for progress. Iran said the next phase of talks, including nuclear negotiations, could not begin until Lebanon fighting ends and promised economic benefits are delivered.
Sunday appeared calmer in Lebanon after two days of heavy Israeli strikes and Hezbollah fire on Israeli positions. Journalists in southern Lebanon saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to homes they had fled. Lebanese authorities said 20 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday.
That relative calm gave Vance a narrow opening. He said progress had been made toward ending hostilities in Lebanon, while Trump’s warning showed the White House was prepared to pair diplomacy with direct military threats if Tehran or Hezbollah undermined the agreement.
Oil markets watch Hormuz dispute
The Strait of Hormuz remains the key economic pressure point. The waterway carries about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil, making any disruption a direct concern for energy prices and U.S. consumers.
Iran’s latest closure announcement came over the weekend while markets were closed, delaying any immediate impact on oil prices until trading resumed. Oil prices had fallen over the previous week to levels not seen since the war began, after the interim agreement raised hopes for restored shipping.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces remained present and vigilant to ensure the agreement with Iran was followed and that the international waterway stayed open. The command also cited a Joint Maritime Information Center advisory describing a designated safe-passage route free of arbitrary impediments.
The confirmed development is that Trump threatened new strikes, Vance opened talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland, Iran claimed the Strait of Hormuz was closed and the U.S. military said commercial vessels were still moving. Whether the talks shift from ceasefire enforcement to nuclear limits remains unresolved.
