U.S. and Iran hold their first round of talks as Trump again threatens Iran

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 21—According to reports from Xinhua’s overseas correspondents: Representatives from the United States and Iran held talks at Mount Bürgenberg in Switzerland on June 21. This was the first round of talks after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on de-escalation. U.S. Vice President Vance said that the U.S.-Iran negotiations “made tremendous progress over the past few hours,” but that the talks “will not resolve all differences.” Subsequently, U.S. President Trump posted on social media, again threatening Iran over the situation involving Israel and Lebanon, Iran’s nuclear issue, and more. By the time of this reporter’s writing, the first round of U.S.-Iran talks had concluded.

The Iranian delegation included Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others. On the U.S. side, Vance, the presidential envoy Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner attended the talks. Pakistan and Qatar participated as mediators. Also, according to Iranian media reports, 80 minutes before the U.S.-Iran talks began, there was no discussion of Iran’s nuclear program, and the Lebanon issue was listed as a top priority.

At the start of the U.S.-Iran talks, Vance said: “What truly represents the beginning today is the start of a technical negotiation—it will not resolve all differences, but for the first time it allows us to sit together as a team.”

Vance said that the issue facing them now is: “Whether we can turn a new page, whether we can permanently change the relationship landscape in the Middle East, or whether we are going to go back to the old ways of doing things—that, though not what we want, is absolutely possible.”

A brief “incident” also occurred at the venue of the U.S.-Iran talks. Video livestream footage provided by the organizers showed that people including Araghchi arrived at the venue, but when Vance and others addressed the media, the Iranian delegation was not shown within the livestream frame. According to Iranian media, a source close to the negotiation team said that the U.S. side and the meeting organizers had originally planned to arrange for the Iranian delegation to shake hands and take a group photo with the U.S. delegation before the start of the quadrilateral talks, but the Iranian delegation refused this arrangement. Afterwards, the relevant livestream and group photo were carried out without the Iranian delegation present, and only then did the Iranian delegation enter the venue.

That day, Trump discussed the situation in Lebanon on a social media platform, warning Iran to immediately stop its “proxy” actions in Lebanon, otherwise the United States would again launch a fierce strike against Iran—“as last week, but even more fiercely.”

Earlier that day, Iranian media reported, citing a person close to the Iranian negotiation team, that if Israel continued military actions in Lebanon and Lebanon’s territorial integrity was not guaranteed, Iran would not hold negotiations with the United States, and the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen.

Also, according to Fox News, Trump spoke by phone with the Iranian side the evening of the 20th, warning the other side not to close the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with the media, Trump said that if the United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement, the United States would become the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz and would collect 20% of the oil revenues in the Middle East region.

Regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, Iranian media reported that Iranian President Pezeshkian reaffirmed that Iran would not give up its right to uranium enrichment and emphasized that Iran has “clearly stated that it will not produce an atomic bomb.” In the interview, Trump said: “He (Pezeshkian) had better watch his words.”

According to Iranian media, the Iranian delegation has lodged a protest with the U.S. side regarding Trump’s verbal threats and is currently working on an appropriate response plan.

(Editor: Wenjing)

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