(updated version)
LUCERNE/WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – During the ongoing talks between the USA and Iran, US President Donald Trump is sending threats towards Tehran. Iran must immediately stop its “highly paid proxies” in Lebanon – by which he meant Hezbollah – from causing unrest, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “If they don’t do that, we’re going to hit Iran very hard again,” Trump said.
Trump told Fox News that he had sent Iran an urgent warning about the Strait of Hormuz. “If you close them, you won’t have a country anymore,” Trump was quoted as saying by Fox News. “You won’t even be able to return to your damn country.”
According to mediator Qatar, the first round of talks to resolve the Iran conflict began on Sunday afternoon in the Swiss luxury resort of Bürgenstock. In addition to representatives of the conflict parties USA and Iran, representatives of the mediating states Qatar and Pakistan also took part. It is hoped that the meetings will lead to a “comprehensive and lasting agreement on all points in the framework agreement” that Washington and Tehran have agreed on, it said.
US Vice President JD Vance, who is taking part on behalf of the USA, held out the prospect of a readjustment of relations with Iran in Switzerland. “The president has asked us to start a new chapter and realign our relationship with the Iranian people,” Vance said, referring to Trump. “We have already made great progress in the last few hours alone, and I expect we will continue to make progress.”
According to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai, the talks should focus on a ceasefire in Lebanon, undisturbed oil exports and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Overall, the goal is to reach a final agreement between the USA and Iran within 60 days, which should also contain provisions on how to deal with Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.
Teeth problems after Trump threats
But after Vance’s initially conciliatory words, Trump’s threats reportedly caused initial anger. According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the Iranian delegation in Bürgenstock protested against the threats. According to the English-language state broadcaster Press TV, the Iranian delegation is examining an appropriate response.
According to Tasnim, threats under the US-Iran agreement are also considered a violation that entitles Tehran to respond. In fact, both agree in the agreement to refrain from both attacks and threats.
However, the fact that Iran also seems interested in a diplomatic solution was shown in the reaction of the Iranian negotiator to the crossfire from Washington. The Americans should be aware that they would not be in their current hopeless situation if such threats were actually effective, wrote Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf on X. “We do not take these statements seriously, but it would be advisable if they exercised more restraint.” Iranian forces remained ready to respond in other ways. “No matter how much they talk, we are the ones who act,” Ghalibaf continued.
Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian also said in a cabinet meeting in Tehran that diplomacy was preferable. One must choose dialogue and not remain in a state of war – “especially since the country’s economic security is the government’s top priority,” said Peseschkian, according to the presidential office. In view of the massive economic crisis in the country, Iran is also hoping for sanctions relief in the negotiations.
Iran initially does not want any negotiating contact with the IAEA
Meanwhile, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will not initially take part in the negotiations in Switzerland. His presence at the Bürgenstock negotiation site was at the request of the USA, but the Iranian team strictly rejected his participation, the Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted a source close to the negotiating team as saying. Iran currently has no intention of holding talks with the IAEA chief.
In connection with the talks, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghtschi. The mere fact that the parties are present, talking to each other and continuing this dialogue is an important contribution to the implementation of the framework agreement, it said.
In addition to Vance, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are in Switzerland. They handled technical aspects of these negotiations, Vance said. The Vice President said before his departure that he would only be in Switzerland for a day or two.
Dramaturgy of the conversations unclear
On the Iranian side, Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf will take part as negotiator and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will take part. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, among others, traveled to represent Pakistan as mediator. It was initially unclear how long the talks at negotiator level should last. It seemed conceivable, for example, that after an initial kick-off, working groups would be formed for certain topics, which would then continue to negotiate at a lower level.
Originally, a first round of talks was supposed to have taken place in Switzerland on Friday, but this did not take place due to mutual attacks by the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah./vee/DP/he
