Trump Continues Threats Despite US-Iran Reaching Agreement
Technical negotiations between Iran and the United States in Switzerland have produced an agreement, yet US President Donald Trump continues to issue threats. The deal stipulates that negotiating groups will be formed to address nuclear issues and sanctions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday (23/6).
The negotiators “decided that four working groups will be formed: Sanctions Relief, Nuclear Affairs, Economic Reconstruction and Development, and Monitoring and Implementation,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported, quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
Separately, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf asserted that the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Tehran. He made the statement on Tuesday after talks aimed at ending the United States-Israel war in the Islamic republic. During the first round of talks held in Switzerland on Monday (22/6), Iran and the United States agreed to establish a communication channel to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and end the fighting in Lebanon.
“The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war condition and will be managed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law,” Ghalibaf said upon returning from the meeting, according to IRNA. In a video uploaded to Ghalibaf’s Telegram account, he said the talks at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock yielded “good achievements”.
“In my view, this trip produced good achievements, especially regarding discussions about the Strait of Hormuz, discussions about Lebanon, the issue of oil exemptions, and the matter of unfreezing blocked funds,” the Iranian parliament speaker said.
The United States temporarily suspended sanctions on Iranian oil after Vice President JD Vance said Tehran would allow UN nuclear inspectors to return to the country following the talks. As part of the agreement, Tehran will also receive some form of sanctions relief from Washington, as well as asset unfreezing. “Of course, we believe we are still at the beginning of this work and must continue our efforts,” Ghalibaf added in the video.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told IRNA that Tehran is not negotiating about its nuclear programme and has not accepted any new commitments in the talks with the US in Switzerland. Iran’s interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue according to established procedures, with the approval of the Iranian parliament and the decision of the Supreme National Security Council, Baghaei added.
Nevertheless, Trump once again levelled threats against Iran. “If Iran does not fulfil their agreement, or if they do not behave well, I will do what I have to do,” Trump told reporters on Monday (22/6) local time. Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the United States not to threaten Iran, vowing that “our armed forces are ready to respond.”
“Do they not think that if their threats were effective, they would not have reached such a state of despair? We do not take American threats into account,” Ghalibaf said. “They had better be careful with their statements; our armed forces are ready to respond to them in different ways. Whatever they say, we will be the ones who act,” he stressed.