Iraq and the US Hold Their First Round of Talks, Trump Threatens Iran Again

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 21 (Xinhua) — Comprehensive reports from Xinhua correspondents stationed abroad: On June 21, U.S. and Iranian delegations held talks on the Swiss Bürgenberg mountain. This was the first round of talks following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two sides. U.S. Vice President Vance said that the U.S.-Iran negotiations “have made tremendous progress in the past few hours,” but the talks “will not resolve all differences.” Subsequently, U.S. President Trump posted on social media, again threatening Iran over issues including the situation in Israel and Lebanon and Iran’s nuclear issue. As of the time this reporter was writing, the first round of U.S.-Iran talks had ended.

The Iranian delegation included Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly Speaker Kalibaf, Foreign Minister Aragchi, and others. On the U.S. side, Vance, presidential envoy Wittekov, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, attended the talks. Pakistan and Qatar attended 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, with the Lebanon issue listed as a top priority for the negotiations.

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

Vance said that the challenge 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 aside” also occurred at the venue of the U.S.-Iran talks. Footage from the video livestream provided by the hosts showed Aragchi and others arriving at the venue, but when Vance and others spoke to the media, the Iranian delegation was not in the video livestream frame. According to Iranian media reports, a person close to the negotiating team said that the U.S. side and the meeting organizers originally planned to arrange a handshake and group photo between the Iranian delegation and the U.S. delegation before the start of the four-party meeting, but the Iranian delegation refused this arrangement. After that, the relevant livestream and group photo were carried out without the Iranian delegation’s presence, and only then did the Iranian delegation enter the venue.

That day, Trump discussed the situation in Lebanon on social media platforms and warned Iran to immediately stop its “proxies” activities in Lebanon, otherwise the United States would again launch a fierce attack on Iran “just like last week, and even more fiercely.”

Earlier that day, Iranian media, citing a person close to the Iranian negotiating team, reported that if Israel continued military operations in Lebanon and Lebanon’s territorial integrity could not be guaranteed, Iran would not hold talks with the U.S., and the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen.

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

Regarding the Iran nuclear issue, Iranian media reported that Iranian President Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran would not give up its right to enrich uranium and emphasized that Iran has “clearly stated that it will not make an atomic bomb.” In an interview, Trump said, “He (Pezeshkian) should probably pay attention to his words.”

Iranian media reported that the Iranian delegation has lodged a protest with the U.S. side over Trump’s oral threats and is currently working on an appropriate response plan.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords: