Iranian negotiators stormed out of the high-level peace talks with the US in Switzerland on Sunday after a frustrated President Trump unleashed his fury on the regime — threatening to seize the Strait of Hormuz and “blow the s–t out of them.”
The talks were abandoned after just 80 minutes when the discussions entered a “difficult phase” following “an insulting message by the US president,” Iran’s state news agency reported.
Vice President JD Vance, who was spearheading the negotiations, had earlier said the US hoped to “turn over a new leaf” with the Islamic Republic.
REUTERS
The talks in the Qatari-owned mountaintop resort of Buergenstock in Switzerland were the first to be held under the terms of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed a week ago.
But hopes of progress were swiftly dashed, and the diplomatic efforts were cut off when Trump, who had been criticized for being too soft on the regime with the MOU, warned that the US would hammer Iran if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz and rein in its terrorist proxies.
The president’s most explicit warning was aimed directly at Tehran’s diplomats in Switzerland.
“You won’t even make it back to your f–king country,” an irate Trump told Iran’s leaders, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.
“You close it, and you won’t have a country,” he said of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We may take over the Strait, if we have to. I’ll blow the s–t out of them.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps had claimed Saturday it was shutting down the critical waterway due to the continued fighting in Lebanon.
Iran also came into peace talks on Sunday wanting to prioritize discussions about Lebanon, where Israel’s military has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.
The talks were supposed to address Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the strait; however, Iran said there could be no start to the next phase of negotiations until the fighting ends, the state news agency reported.
Trump also took to Truth Social to let out his rage, blaming Iran for the fighting and demanding that the regime keep Hezbollah in line.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” the president wrote. “If they don’t we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
The Islamic Republic’s chief negotiator and head of Iran’s parliament, Mohammed Ghalibaf, slammed Trump’s threats as an act of “desperation.”
“We don’t take the Americans’ threats seriously,” he wrote on X.
Ghalibaf went on to warn the president that any force would be met in kind.
“They had better watch their statements,” he hit back.
“Our armed forces are ready to respond in another way. Whatever they say, we are the ones who will act.”
Ghalibaf and another of Iran’s top negotiators, Abbas Araghchi, also refused to participate in a scheduled handshake and joint photo session event with the US team, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
The officials described the photo-op as an American “media show,” with the optics raising worries that the US fumbled the start of the negotiations.
US officials, however, claimed there was no snub and that Iran was merely spreading opportunistic propaganda.
The US delegation in Switzerland was being led by Vance, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
A senior US diplomat engaged in the negotiations later downplayed the diplomatic row, insisting that the peace talks remain ongoing.
“The Iranian delegation is still at the negotiating venue and the US delegation expects to continue working through the night,” the official said, adding that the discussions have included “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open.”
“We have also worked through deconfliction mechanisms and enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon,” the diplomat said.
The talks Sunday would be used “as a starting point for ongoing technical talks going forward,” the official added.
Still, Morgan Ortagus, the deputy US special envoy to the Middle East, said the president’s latest threats mark a major shift in how Trump will proceed with the peace talks, after the notable concessions the US appeared willing to make last week to end the war.
“This is a game-changing announcement by the President as it relates to his policies towards Iran — if Hezbollah strikes, the President is now vowing he will hold Iran responsible and will hit them in return,” Ortagus wrote on X.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has been pushing for Trump to be tougher on Iran, agreed that the onus should be on Iran to forge peace in Lebanon or face the consequences.
Graham also predicted that the peace talks wouldn’t be fruitful.
“I’d rather try diplomacy than take it off the table,” the lawmaker told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“If you don’t have a diplomatic path through the MOU, then you have to go to war or some other form of coercion. Let’s try this. Let’s try a diplomatic solution. I think it’s going to fail.” he added.
He added that he believes Trump will ultimately take control of the Strait of Hormuz by force and “obliterate” Iran if the talks collapse.
“I spent four-and-a-half hours with President Trump Friday. Here’s what I think will happen next. If this deal fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force,” the hawkish senator explained.
Along with the threats, President Trump himself suggested the US could take full control of the Strait of Hormuz and impose its own “Guardian Angel” toll system after repeatedly warning Iran not to charge fees for passage.