First round of U.S.-Iran negotiations end, technical talks will continue after Trump threats shake summit – NBC News
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The U.S. and Iran, along with mediating parties, established a road map for reaching a final deal within 60 days during Sunday’s talks in Switzerland, according to a joint statement from the mediating countries.
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Sunday’s high-level talks were the first discussions under the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, with officials from the U.S. — including Vice President JD Vance — present alongside Iran and mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan.
Qatar’s and Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministries described the session in a joint statement as “positive” and “constructive.”
The main success of Sunday’s talks was the establishment of a “High Level Committee” with political oversight of mediation, which agreed on a road map “towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks” on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions and dispute resolution, the statement said.
The talks also led to the creation of a deconfliction line between the parties and Lebanon, it said. Fighting in southern Lebanon between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel has continued even as talks in Switzerland progressed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X that the meeting delivered “major progress to end [the] Lebanon War,” and noted progress on oil exports, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, frozen Iranian assets and major reconstruction plans for Iran.
Talks are scheduled to continue for the rest of the week.
The talks came as Tehran protested President Donald Trump’s recent comments potentially threatening the days-old peace.
“The Iranian delegation has expressed its protest to the American side and is now reviewing an appropriate response to Donald Trump’s recent verbal threats,” Iranian officials said through Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency translated to English, adding that “any form of threat is considered a serious violation of the agreement.”
It was unclear which of Trump’s statements they were referring to. However, earlier Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” unless it stops “their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon,” referring to Hezbollah.
And in a phone interview Sunday morning with Fox News, Trump said he spoke with the Iranians overnight, delivering a stark warning that if Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. will “blow the s— out of them.”
“You close it and you won’t have a country,” Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported the president’s telling him Sunday morning. “You won’t even make it back to your f—— country.”
Told during the phone call that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will maintain its right to enrich uranium, Yingst said, Trump responded that “he better watch his mouth” and “he better shape up or we’ll take over the rest of the country.”
Trump described the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as “just an option,” saying, “I can do whatever I want after that option.”
Vance, joined at the negotiations by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with a senior Iranian delegation to discuss the technical details of a memorandum of understanding signed last week.
The deal has already been tested by fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Iran signaled would be central to the talks. “The first mandate of the negotiating delegation in Switzerland is to end the aggression in Lebanon,” a spokesman for Iran’s presidential office said.
Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating a ceasefire in southern Lebanon with continued strikes, even as the Trump administration and Iran press for fighting to end.
Iran said Saturday that it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil passes, alleging ceasefire violations by Israel. The U.S. military has denied Iran’s claim to control the strait.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy warned ships not to approach the waterway, which Iran had committed to reopen under the interim peace deal.
After initial talks Sunday, Vance told the media that “great” progress had been made toward a future “where everyone can work together to promote peace and prosperity.”
A senior U.S. diplomat engaged in the negotiations said Sunday that they anticipated working through the night.
“We’ve had robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal,” the official said. “We plan to continue working through each of these issues and using today’s work as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward.”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an unusual warning Sunday to unspecified voices in Iran pressing for a return to conflict.
Continuing the war “is not in the interest of any individual or group,” he stressed, adding that if there are “internal rifts” in Tehran, “then there will be no need for Israel and America. We will destroy the country ourselves.”
Amid uncertainty over whether the Strait of Hormuz is actually open, Trump said Saturday on Truth Social that there would be “NO TOLLS” on the strait during or after the current 60-day ceasefire, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”
Trump added that the U.S. could charge tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, referring to the U.S. as the “Guardian Angel” of the Middle East.
Iran, through various officials and channels, has said the failure to implement the first clause of the memorandum of understanding means there is no agreement in effect.
A violation of Article 1, which specified that fighting must end on all fronts, including Lebanon, “calls the entire agreement into question,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Saturday, warning that unless the other side immediately adopts the necessary measures, the memorandum as a whole will face serious difficulties.
Israel killed at least 16 people in strikes in Lebanon on Saturday, according to the country’s Health Ministry, after strikes Friday killed 83. The surge in strikes followed Hezbollah attacks that killed four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Saturday that Hezbollah had breached the ceasefire and “launched more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon” and that Israel had attacked what it described as Hezbollah targets in response. “The IDF remains committed to the ceasefire agreement,” the statement said.
Hezbollah said it had adhered to the ceasefire, accusing Israel of making false claims to justify its attacks to “sabotage the agreement” between Iran and the U.S.
Speaking to reporters before he boarded the plane to Switzerland, Vance said the situation in Lebanon had “calmed down” despite news reports and added: “I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, hopefully make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on.”
The current agreement establishes toll-free travel through the strait for 60 days.
Negotiations in Switzerland are also meant to resolve some of the thorniest issues in the deal that are yet to be agreed upon, including Iran’s nuclear program.
According to the memorandum of understanding, Iran has reaffirmed a promise not to develop nuclear weapons — which it made under the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.
Megan Shannon is an Associate Producer for the White House Unit.
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