Iran Peace Talks Show Promise – But the Threat of War Remains

The first round of peace talks between the US and Iran is over, and those in the know say they’ve found a path to peace. Well, it’s a path to more negotiating that will hopefully lead to peace, in any case. Technical talks are set to continue for the rest of the week even as Lebanon and Israel continue to fight and Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz yet again. But as Trump said Sunday, peace is just one option – we always have the other.

Giving Peace a Chance

Vice President JD Vance and his team of negotiators landed in Switzerland bright and early Sunday morning to begin what they said would be a couple of days of peace talks with Iranian officials mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. They reportedly concluded the first round of said talks this morning, as the news out of Bürgenstock was that the chat was “positive” and “constructive.”

In a joint statement by the foreign affairs ministries of both mediating countries, Sunday’s talks resulted in the establishment of a “High Level Committee” with political oversight that agreed upon a road map “towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks.” These talks are scheduled to continue throughout the week and will reportedly focus on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, and dispute resolution.

The statement also declared a deconfliction line between the parties and Lebanon, meaning there is now an official line of communication between Lebanon and the negotiation teams trying to forge a plan for peace. Fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah continued even as the talks progressed in Switzerland, and whether this deconfliction line proves useful likely depends on how Iran – the financial backer behind Hezbollah – chooses to use it.

Iranian Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that the meeting brought “major progress to end the Lebanon War.” Here’s hoping he means that – and that his opinion actually matters. On that note, though, there is more promising news. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a warning Sunday to the hawks in his own country that continuing the war “is not in the interest of any individual or group. He cautioned that if there are “internal rifts” in Tehran, there will be no need for Israel or America – “we will destroy the country ourselves.” Such a peaceful and, dare we say, reasonable stance is unusual for Pezeshkian, but it’s certainly a welcome change of heart.

The Other Option

But, of course, peace is just one option – and if it doesn’t work out, there’s always the other one. President Donald Trump said as much on Sunday in a phone interview with Fox News. After speaking with Iranian officials overnight, Trump told Fox’s Trey Yingst that he had warned Iran that if they closed the Strait of Hormuz again, the US would “blow the s— out of them.”

Reports from Iranian state-owned media on Saturday, later confirmed by an Iranian consulate, indicated the nation was planning to close the Strait of Hormuz again. Iran’s Consulate-General in India wrote on X that the closure was “in response to the continuous violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.”

Trump’s message was clear: “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your f—ing country.” When Yingst told the president that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will maintain its right to enrich uranium, Trump reportedly responded that “he had better watch his mouth” and that “he had better shape up or we’ll take over the rest of his country.”

Could that, perhaps, be the source of President Pezeshkian’s newfound love of peace?

America’s president explained that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding is “just an option,” and explained: “I can do whatever I want after that option.” This is something of an escalation in threat. First, the US and Israel were softening up the Iranian regime so the people could take over. Then Trump threatened to have the US Navy take over the Strait of Hormuz and potentially start charging a toll of its own on safe passage.

Now it’s the utter destruction or conquest of the nation of Iran. Is it all just so much saber-rattling? Under most politicians, the answer would almost certainly be yes. But with Trump? Perhaps it’s best for all parties if these peace talks continue to go well. It sure would be unfortunate to have to resort to that other option.