Trump's Threats Derail US-Iran Talks in Switzerland

President Donald Trump's unexpected threats against Iran on Sunday disrupted sensitive negotiations taking place at the luxury Bürgenstock hotel in Switzerland, CNN reported, citing sources.

The remarks came just after Vice President JD Vance had stated that Trump sent him on a "diplomatic mission" to "open a new page and change our relations with the people of Iran." The talks were already tense — Iran had announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and demanded that Trump ensure a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Following Trump's threats, Iranian delegation head Mohammad Ghalibaf wrote on X: "They (the US) had better choose their words carefully. Our armed forces are ready to respond in a different way." An Iranian source told CNN that the negotiations had hit a dead end but were not yet terminated. Backchannel talks are underway to bring the parties back to the table.

Trump stated he would "hit them (Iran) very hard again" if they did not rein in their proxy group Hezbollah, which he accused of escalating violence in Lebanon. He also threatened Vance's Iranian counterparts, saying they would never return home to their "damned country" if they did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

This is not the first time Trump has disrupted US-Iran talks. In April, he claimed that Iran had handed over its highly enriched uranium to the US and would never build a nuclear bomb, which Iran denied. Those negotiations, already slow, lost momentum. Eventually, Pakistani mediators convinced Iran to continue. CNN notes that they are now working to revive the dialogue once again.

On June 17, the US and Iran remotely signed a memorandum to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. Over the next 60 days, details of a final agreement were to be drafted. Technical talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were canceled at the last minute, possibly due to renewed clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.