Tense talks between the United States and Iran had scarcely begun Sunday before the signs of strain started to show.
Shortly after Vice President JD Vance arrived in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, President Donald Trump was already voicing his displeasure with the state of his recently negotiated ceasefire agreement, lashing out at Iran for failing to stop its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, from engaging in a flare-up of hostilities with Israel.
Both sides traded threats over the weekend following the renewed attacks, which quickly became the main subject of the peace talks, according to multiple reports.
Iran said over the weekend that it would close the Strait of Hormuz over Israel’s continued aggression, which led Trump to chastise Israeli officials last week.
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But Trump took immediate issue with the prospect of the strait closing again. He threatened a new round of attacks on Iran — and the negotiators themselves — if they closed the crucial waterway, through which a large portion of the world’s oil supply passes.
Fox News’ Trey Yingst said Trump told him that he warned Iranian officials, “You close it, and you won’t have a country. … You won’t even make it back to your effing country.”
Trump added that the United States could take over the strait and collect its own tolls if Iran does not uphold its side of the ceasefire agreement signed last week, a move that was supposed to kick off a 60-day negotiation period on a permanent peace deal.
Iranian state media reported Sunday that the country’s representatives considered Trump’s comments a violation of the “memorandum of understanding” they just inked, and that Iranian officials had left the negotiation venue shortly after.
A senior U.S. diplomat engaged in the talks denied those reports, suggesting that negotiations remain ongoing and that U.S. negotiators plan to work “through the night.”
Vance, for his part, signaled hopefulness during a press conference in Switzerland following several hours of discussions.
“We’ve already made great progress over just the last few hours,” Vance said, without acknowledging the cracks that had begun to emerge. “I expect that we will make additional progress in the hours to come.”
At issue for the United States is the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly stated that preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is a key goal he hopes to accomplish during the two-month ceasefire, as well as a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without the Iranian regime placing tolls on commercial vessels.
The war has also taken a toll on domestic energy markets in America, causing a significant uptick in gas prices across the country since the war began Feb. 28. That has fueled a subsequent rise in overall inflation, which last month reached its highest level since 2022.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval numbers have taken a nosedive, reaching a new low this month, according to a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released last week.
Despite the political headwinds, Trump continued to project optimism over the weekend.
“Happy Father’s Day! Our Country is doing GREAT,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday. “Record Jobs Numbers and Stock Market, BEST ECONOMY EVER! Greatest Military in the World, by far.”
“We are WINNING on all fronts,” he added, “WINNING LIKE NEVER BEFORE.”
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