As Vance meets top Iranian officials in Switzerland, Trump threatens Tehran from afar

OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — High-level U.S.-Iran talks connected their interim woody to extremity the warfare had a tense commencement Sunday successful Switzerland arsenic Tehran took discourtesy astatine comments by President Donald Trump, who threatened to onslaught and told Iran's president to ticker what helium says.

The comments from afar — connected societal media and to quality outlets — analyzable efforts by Vice President JD Vance and mediators Pakistan and Qatar to support Iran engaged successful discussions meant to code thorny issues similar Tehran's atomic program, the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of billions of dollars successful Iranian assets.

Before anything, however, Iran wants to sermon Lebanon, wherever Israel's subject has been warring the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, since the woody halts struggle connected each fronts.

“Iran indispensable instantly halt their highly paid PROXIES successful Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said connected societal media. “If they don’t, we’ll deed Iran precise hard again, conscionable similar we did past week, lone harder!!!”

“They would bash amended to beryllium cautious astir their statements," Iran's pb negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said connected X aft Trump's comments. "Our equipped forces are prepared to respond to them successful a antithetic manner. They whitethorn support talking, it is we who act.”

Iranian authorities media said talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed aft the “publication of an insulting connection by the U.S. President.” The Iranian delegation past met with Qatari mediators and near the negotiating site, authorities media said.

Vance and U.S. negotiators including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had met with Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for what Iranian authorities media said was astir 80 minutes.

It was not wide erstwhile they mightiness conscionable again.

An authoritative with cognition of the talks aboriginal told the AP the Iranian delegation remained engaged successful the talks and has not indicated to mediators immoderate volition to leave. The authoritative requested anonymity owed to the sensitivity of the talks.

Iran archetypal wants to absorption connected Israeli strikes

in Lebanon

Negotiators are successful a 60-day sprint to scope an statement connected the method details that clasp monolithic implications for the satellite system and planetary security.

“The question earlier america present is however overmuch much tin we execute together? Can we crook implicit a caller leaf?” Vance said arsenic the talks began, and asked whether they could “change relations successful the Middle East permanently.”

The U.S. wants Iran locked into negotiations implicit its atomic programme amid concerns it whitethorn beryllium utilized for subject purposes, which Iran denies. Vance besides wants Tehran to perpetrate to keeping unfastened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran connected Saturday claimed to close. The U.S. has disputed that, saying shipping postulation continued Sunday.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told the authorities quality bureau that Tehran archetypal wants talks to absorption connected the struggle successful Lebanon.

A renewed ceasefire successful Lebanon, brokered connected Saturday, appeared to beryllium holding, and Israel's subject said it would assistance question restrictions for residents adjacent the borderline with Lebanon connected Monday greeting — different motion of calm.

But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is simply a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to support his forces successful confederate Lebanon until immoderate menace to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.

Sharp words are exchanged implicit Iran's atomic program

The statement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian instantly allows Tehran to merchantability its lipid freely and paves the mode for Iran to pat into billions of dollars successful assets that are presently frozen. A subordinate of Iran's negotiating squad told authorities tv that draught wording was reached astir “temporary sanctions waivers for lipid and petroleum derivatives."

The statement besides calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to beryllium buried nether atomic sites that were targeted successful U.S. strikes a twelvemonth ago.

Pezeshkian, however, declared Sunday that "we volition ne'er backmost down from the close to enrich uranium, and the different broadside is besides forced to judge it,” according to Iran’s authorities media.

Trump, successful a telephone interrogation with Fox News, aboriginal warned that the Iranian president should ticker what helium says and threatened to instrumentality implicit Iran, successful comments relayed by a Fox correspondent.

Iran had cautiously approached the talks fixed its erstwhile acquisition with U.S. negotiations connected the atomic issue, which doubly successful the past twelvemonth were interrupted by subject strikes.

The woody has stirred overmuch controversy

Vance has said helium planned to beryllium successful Switzerland for “a time oregon two,” leaving overmuch of the elaborate negotiations to beryllium led by Witkoff and Kushner. His relation successful the talks has heightened scrutiny astatine a clip erstwhile he's considering a 2028 statesmanlike campaign.

Trump and Vance person travel nether searing disapproval from parts of their ain enactment for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to the atomic statement signed by the Obama medication that Trump and Republicans person insisted did thing to terminate Iran’s atomic program.

The caller statement says commercialized vessels tin walk done the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without charge, but does not preclude aboriginal fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his ain menace Saturday to levy U.S. tolls if determination is nary woody with Iran successful 60 days, insisting that the wealth would beryllium for “services rendered arsenic the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”

The Trump medication has been moving to reassure planetary markets that the warfare has been simply a blip connected lipid prices, arsenic Americans kick astir precocious gasoline prices up of highest summertime travel. After the woody was announced, lipid futures dropped astir 8%.

Markets are expected to intimately way the advancement of talks erstwhile they unfastened for trading Sunday evening.

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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed successful Islamabad, Amir Vahdat successful Tehran, Iran, and Melanie Lidman successful Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

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