Iran threatened to walk out of the talks in Switzerland after President Trump's statements on Sunday
By Bernard Moerdler,
Iran threatened to walk out of the talks in Switzerland after President Trump's statements on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance said at a press conference at the close of the day's negotiations, which he said ran until 1 a.m. Vance dismissed the Iranian threat as "trash talk" and said "the President of the United States set the record straight." He said the talks had laid "a very good foundation for a successful, final deal."
Vance said the parties established a coordination mechanism to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and a deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon, and that Iran had agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into the country. Iran has not publicly confirmed the inspector arrangement, and a similar understanding described earlier in the process was subsequently denied by Tehran. Vance said the high-level talks were concluding and that technical teams would remain in Switzerland to continue negotiating.
Vance also said that unfrozen Iranian funds would be subject to sign-off by Qatar and the United States and used to purchase American agricultural products such as soy, wheat, and corn, an idea he attributed to envoy Jared Kushner. It was not clear whether Iran had agreed to that arrangement, and Vance did not elaborate. Pressed on the prospect of a permanent agreement, he said that if one could not be reached, Trump retained "a lot of options."
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon & Hezbollah
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.