PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Sunday warned Tehran to “immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon”, or the US will “hit Iran very hard again” even as bilateral negotiators continue critical talks in Switzerland aimed at defusing volatility across the region. The escalatory warning was issued via the President’s social media platform, Truth Social, marking one of the most aggressive posturing manoeuvres from Washington since the commencement of the alpine diplomatic track. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Trump posted. This sharp rhetoric arrived at an incredibly sensitive juncture for the peace process, where officials from both administrations are currently engaged in technical sessions under the auspices of a recently finalised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The first round of high-level US-Iran diplomatic talks currently underway in Switzerland has concluded, with the session suspended after 80 minutes to allow the delegations to conduct ‘internal consultations’ , according to Iran’s ‘Fars news’ agency. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, a military source told Iranian media outlet, the ‘Fars News’ Agency. ‘Fars News’ Agency’s follow-ups from military sources indicated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and the IRGC Navy is not issuing any permits for vessel passage until further notice.The agency also said that this step is the first response to the ‘breach of promise’, and if the aggression continues, subsequent steps will be planned and taken to compel the other side to fulfill its commitments.

 

In a direct warning over potential maritime disruption, the US President indicated that Washington would respond with overwhelming force to any blockade of the vital shipping lane. “You close it, and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your f***ng country,” Trump told ‘Fox News’. The US President also suggested that Washington could assume direct operational control to secure the global shipping corridor and potentially levy transit fees on oil shipments navigating the waters. “We may take over the Strait if we have to. I’ll blow the sh*t out of them,” he said. Warning of economic measures if diplomatic discussions stall, the Republican leader added, “If they don’t make a deal, we’ll collect tolls.” Reflecting on the progress achieved within these structured technical channels, US Vice President JD Vance addressed the media in Switzerland, asserting that the administration has managed to secure key stabilisation milestones regarding the Lebanese border, despite the highly volatile security matrix on the ground. “We’ve seen great progress over the last couple of days in ensuring the ceasefire in Lebanon holds,” Vance stated. While maintaining an optimistic tone regarding the general trajectory of the bilateral engagement, the Vice President explicitly acknowledged the operational challenges inherent in managing active truces across multiple hostile factions. Highlighting the fluid and unpredictable nature of the current security landscape, Vance noted that “these kinds of ceasefires are always a little bit messy.” Earlier in the day, Sharif met negotiators from both the US and Iran separately on the sidelines of the talks.