Iranian Delegation Protests Trump Remarks as US-Iran Talks Continue in Switzerland
Iran’s representatives lodged a formal protest over President Donald Trump’s recent threats, while US Vice President JD Vance and other officials met Iranian officials in Switzerland to discuss the fledgling peace agreement.
Iranian officials said the delegation had formally protested President Donald Trump’s recent verbal threats and were reviewing an appropriate response, describing any threat as a serious violation of the agreement. The protest was lodged during a meeting in Switzerland where US Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met a senior Iranian team to work out technical details of a memorandum of understanding signed the previous week. Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan also participated.
Trump had posted on his social-media platform that the United States would “hit Iran very hard again” unless Tehran stopped supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a subsequent interview with Fox News, he warned that if Iran were to close the Strait of Hormuz, the United States would take decisive action. The president also described the US-Iran memorandum as “just an option” that the United States could modify at will.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned that a breach of the first article of the memorandum – which calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon – would call the entire agreement into question. Tehran also reiterated its claim that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to alleged cease-fire violations by Israel, a claim denied by the US military.
Vance told reporters after the talks that “great progress” had been made toward a future in which the parties could cooperate on peace and prosperity. He added that the negotiations would focus on the nuclear issue and the Lebanon cease-fire. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cautioned that continuing the war would not serve any group’s interests and warned against internal divisions that could undermine the peace process.
The broader context includes ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with both sides accusing each other of violating a cease-fire. The United States has indicated that toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be maintained for the 60-day cease-fire period, though Trump later suggested the US could impose tolls after that timeframe.
