Iran hit back at Donald Trump on Monday after the US president threatened to “take over the rest of the country” if the Strait of Hormuz is closed again.
“You make threats; we take action,” Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, wrote on social media in apparent reference to Trump.
“The Strait of Hormuz is neither your personal casino nor the backyard of modern-day pirates; these are Iranian sovereign waters, and the ultimate decision rests with the noble people of Iran and its brave armed forces.”
Iran lifted its effective blockade of Hormuz last week after agreeing with the US to extend a ceasefire to allow for peace negotiations, but Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday declared the waterway shut once again, in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
The US president said in response he had warned Iranian officials that “you close [the strait] and you won’t have a country”, Fox News’s Trey Yingst reported on Sunday.
High stakes talks aimed at finalising a deal to end the war are meanwhile expected to continue through the week, after a “difficult” start that saw Iranian negotiators walk out over Trump’s “insults”.
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Iran didn't negotiate on its nuclear programme during Switzerland talks
Tehran did not negotiate on its nuclear programme nor did it accept any new commitments in Sunday's talks with the US in Switzerland, the the Iranian foreign ministry has said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the official IRNA news agency on Monday that Iran's interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue in accordance with current procedures, subject to the approval of Iran's parliament and the decisions of the Supreme National Security Council.
Rubio heads to UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain to discuss Iran deal
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, according to a State Department spokesperson.
The trip over the next few days will give the Trump administration a chance to sell its preliminary Iran accord directly to Gulf Arab allies.
While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, a grouping of six Sunni monarchies that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, State Department `spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Monday.
While GCC leaders have broadly supported efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran, many are disconcerted by the specific terms of the memorandum of understanding that US President Donald Trump signed last week.
US issues Iran-related general license for oil sales
The US Treasury Department issued a general license for Iran on Monday that allowed the production, delivery and sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian-origin through August 21.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran, the United States agreed to issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances, and transportation.
Transactions authorised in the general license include importation of Iranian-origin crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products to the United States. It does not authorise transactions involving North Korea or Cuba.
Netanyahu insists IDF will remain in Lebanon
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still reassuring his base that the IDF will remain in Lebanon to protect residents in northern Israel.
“Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat against them or against the residents of the north. The IDF has no restrictions in this matter,” he says.
“I stand firm on the fact that we will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as is required to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of the state,” he adds.
Recap: Vance claims Trump wants to 'turn over new leaf' in ties with Iranian people
The four issues in focus as talks begin in Switzerland
JD Vance outlined four US priorities for initial talks with Iran in Switzerland on Monday.
The first was a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, he said, insisting that the waterway is currently open. He added that they need coordination to rid the channel of mines.
They also want to ensure a similar mechanism for regional ceasefire, after Israel and Hezbollah renewed their agreement to stop clashes in Lebanon.
Vance said Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors into the country.
And Vance said they also set up a process for talks to continue after the lead negotiators leave Switzerland today.
What happens next around talks to end the war?
Iran and the US are expected to continue their mediated talks in Switzerland this week.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said sanctions on Iranian oil were waived, some frozen assets were released and a ‘reconstruction’ plan was launched.
Mediators are also focusing on implementing a mechanism to ensure the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah stays calm, after a ceasefire was renewed on Friday afternoon.
Relatedly, a ‘line of communication’ is meant to be set up to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open, mediators said.
Trump accuses newspaper of ‘treason’ after it questioned what the Iran war had actually achieved
Donald Trump has again lashed out over negative press coverage of his war with Iran, singling out The New York Times for criticism after it asked what the conflict had actually achieved.
“The way the Corrupt and Failing New York Times is covering stories on a very battered and beat up Iran, through FAKE & MADE UP ‘FACTS’ is, in my opinion, ‘TREASONOUS,’” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform late Sunday.
“I will be adding all of their false and ridiculous reporting to my multi Billion Dollar lawsuit against them. They are Criminals!”
Read the full story:
Trump accuses newspaper of ‘treason’ after it questioned what Iran war had achieved
President Donald Trump angrily lashes out at New York Times for questioning purpose of Operation Epic FuryJames Reynolds
The four issues in focus as talks begin in Switzerland
JD Vance outlined four US priorities for initial talks with Iran in Switzerland on Monday.
The first was a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, he said, insisting that the waterway is currently open. He added that they need coordination to rid the channel of mines.
They also want to ensure a similar mechanism for regional ceasefire, after Israel and Hezbollah renewed their agreement to stop clashes in Lebanon.
Vance said Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors into the country.
And Vance said they also set up a process for talks to continue after the lead negotiators leave Switzerland today.
Iran agreed to allow more nuclear inspectors, Vance says
JD Vance told reporters in Switzerland on Monday that Iran had agreed to admit inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as talks continue.
He said the development “is probably what we’re most excited about as Americans”.
“That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran, and that’s exactly what we wanted to do,” he added.