US hopes to turn over 'new leaf' with Iran, but Trump threatens to resume bombing
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Sun, 06/21/2026 - 14:27
JD Vance hails 'historic talks' in Switzerland, but Trump says Iran will be hit 'very hard' if it does not contain Hezbollah
US Vice President JD Vance attends the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Burgenstock resort in Obburgen, Switzerland, on 21 June 2026 (Reuters)
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US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that President Donald Trump had asked him to turn over "a new leaf" in American ties with the Iranian people.
But at the same time as the talks were occurring, Trump threatened to continue bombing Iran if it did not contain Hezbollah.
Vance arrived at the Burgenstock mountain resort in Switzerland on Sunday morning to join Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for technical talks with Iranian officials following last week's signing of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.
"This is a historic meeting," Vance said, adding that the goal was to "turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran, and to extend an outstretched hand".
"The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently?
"Or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but it's certainly very much something that can happen."
Qatar and Pakistan are mediating the discussions.
Vance said the technical discussions would allow US and Iranian officials to work through outstanding issues. While the negotiations might not resolve every disagreement, he said they would bring both sides together as teams "for the first time in history".
Vance is leading the US delegation, while Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are leading the Iranian team.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir are also in Switzerland.
"I have joked that I have two very, very important people in my life," Vance said. "An Indian and a Pakistani. The Indian is my wife, and the Pakistani is Field-Marshal Munir."
'Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble'
- US President Donald Trump
The vice president said Trump wanted to "extend an outstretched hand that says to the people of Iran that if your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions for the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country".
Moments later, Trump took to Truth Social to threaten renewed military action against Iran unless Tehran stopped Hezbollah from "causing trouble" in Lebanon.
"Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble," Trump wrote. "If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!"
Fallout from Iran war
Iran re-closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday over continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
The move came after at least 29 people were killed when Israeli forces launched a wave of attacks across southern Lebanon, a day after Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire.
Iran warned again on Sunday that it would not enter into a broader agreement with Washington unless Israel ended its attacks on Lebanon.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israeli troops faced "no restrictions" on acting against any threat encountered inside Lebanon.
"There has never been, and there is currently no restriction on [Israeli] soldiers in Lebanon from acting to eliminate threats... As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have made clear: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon," Katz said in a statement, referring to an area extending roughly 10km into Lebanese territory where Israeli forces remain stationed.
Ninety-two percent of Israelis think Iran has won war, new poll finds
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Katz's comments came as a new poll found that 92 percent of Israelis believed Iran had won the war that was launched by the US and Israel in late February.
The survey, conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found that Israelis overwhelmingly view the war and subsequent deal with the US in a negative way, with 83 percent of those polled saying the campaign has weakened Israel's long-term security and 86 percent feeling negatively about the outcome.
This public perception mirrors the feelings of Israel's political and military elite, many of whom see the end of the war on Iran as representing a turning point that could weaken Israel's regional influence.
The poll found that 72.5 percent of Israelis do not believe Netanyahu when he says Israel achieved significant gains and removed an existential threat, a feeling that also reflects the growing uncertainty around the prime minister's future.
The close relationship between Israel and the Trump administration has come under the spotlight this week.
On Friday, Vance said that criticism of Israel should not automatically be equated with antisemitism.
"The president has been very clear, he's got some disagreements with Bibi Netanyahu about how precisely to bring the Iran war to a close," Vance said.
'It's just not the case that every criticism of Bibi Netanyahu's policy decisions leads to antisemitism'
- US Vice President JD Vance
"They're a good partner in the same way that the United Kingdom or France are good partners - that doesn't mean that we're always going to have aligned interests.
"Sometimes criticism of the Israeli government can be expressed in a way that's antisemitic. It's just not the case that every criticism of Bibi Netanyahu's policy decisions leads to antisemitism."
His remarks came a day after Vance warned Israel that Trump was its only remaining powerful ally as he batted away criticism of the Iran deal.
“My message to them would be twofold. Number 1: Donald J Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” Vance told reporters on Thursday.
“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
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