Middle East crisis live: US talks with Iran set to continue despite Iranian walkout
Negotiations due to continue for rest of week in Switzerland after tense start as Iranians protest against threat from Donald Trump Iran hails ‘progress’ as
Negotiations due to continue for rest of week in Switzerland after tense start as Iranians protest against threat from Donald Trump Iran hails ‘progress’ as first day of talks with US conclude after shaky start The first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran ended in Switzerland on Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran saying it had again closed the strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days and that technical talks would continue for the rest of the week in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock. The talks had a tense start, with Iranian negotiators walking out in protest against Trump’s threats. Iranian state media said the talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president”.
But high-level negotiations continued before concluding in the early hours of Monday, with Pakistan and Qatar saying technical talks between the two sides would continue for the rest of the week. After Trump’s threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were held, though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media his country had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran. The US did not immediately comment on the claims. Iran said at the weekend that it had again stopped maritime traffic through the Hormuz strait, in response to continuing fighting in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, and that Sunday’s talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
In Switzerland, US vice-president JD Vance played down the impact of the violence in Lebanon, saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there. “These things are always a little bit messy,” said Vance, leading the American delegation. In the US, Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran if it did not rein in its allies. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media, apparently referring to Hezbollah. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Despite Trump’s threats, Vance told reporters the US president had “asked us to turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran”. Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.
The BriefWire