Thu, September 17, 2026
Washington (Web Desk): US President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a fresh and forceful warning to Iran as Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland for negotiations concerning Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump accused Iran of backing unrest in Lebanon and wrote, “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble.” He further cautioned, “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
The latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah has created new challenges for the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached between Washington and Tehran. The renewed violence also pushed back the Switzerland talks, which had originally been scheduled to begin on Friday.
Developments in Lebanon have become one of the most sensitive issues in the wider negotiations, with Tehran treating a ceasefire in the country as a key requirement in ongoing efforts to secure regional stability.
On Sunday, Vance met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir near Lucerne.
He was accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Pakistan has continued to play a significant role as a mediator during the Middle East conflict.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials said on Saturday that they were prepared to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks in Lebanon, arguing that the strikes amounted to a violation of the ceasefire arrangement.
The agreement, concluded on Wednesday, paved the way for the reopening of the strategically important waterway, through which nearly a quarter of global oil shipments pass. It also granted the United States and Iran a 60-day period to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear activities while immediately lifting US sanctions on “Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services.”
Despite the agreement, Trump warned on Saturday that the United States could impose tolls on traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz if Tehran fails to reach a deal within the allotted 60 days.
“We may take over the Strait, if we have to,” President Trump told Fox News on Sunday. “I’ll blow the s— out of them.”
“If they don’t make a deal, we’ll collect tolls,” he told Fox News’s Trey Yingst.
Even as discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme continue, officials in Europe remain closely focused on the situation in Lebanon.
“We’re all working towards regional peace,” Vance told reporters Sunday. “There, of course, are going to be sometimes disagreements about precisely how to get there, but I actually feel pretty great about where we are in Lebanon.”
“There’s still some additional wood to chop, but we’re going to keep on working at it,” he added.
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