Washington: US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday that the United States could launch tougher military action if Tehran does not rein in allied groups in Lebanon, as administration officials argued that Iran had lost leverage ahead of a new round of negotiations in Switzerland.
The warning came as Vice President JD Vance prepared for talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland aimed at advancing negotiations following months of military confrontation and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “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!!!”
The post underscored the administration’s insistence that Tehran curb the activities of groups aligned with Iran across the Middle East even as diplomatic efforts continue.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week”, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the upcoming talks would help define Iran’s objectives and the compromises it may be prepared to make.
“I think this first candid dialogue will set out what the Iranian goals are and what they think the tradeoffs they might have to make are,” Wright said. He argued that US military action and efforts to keep shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz had placed Iran in a significantly weaker negotiating position.
“We’ve just never been in this situation before,” Wright said, adding that Iran no longer possessed the leverage it had brought to previous rounds of talks.
The Energy Secretary said oil and gas shipments through the Strait were steadily returning to normal. He noted that 67 ships had passed through the waterway the previous day and said volumes were now “about equal to where we were before the war”.
Wright also predicted further declines in energy prices.
“Flows of oil and natural gas through the strait have already returned to normal,” he said. He cited growing production in the United States and Venezuela, along with cooperation among global energy producers, as factors supporting lower prices.
Defending Trump’s approach, Wright said the President knowingly accepted short-term economic risks to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state.
“There’s just no greater risk to energy prices, to the economy of the world, than in nuclear-armed Iran,” he said. Wright added that the administration had significantly damaged Iran’s military infrastructure and missile production capability.
However, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice sharply criticised the emerging framework, calling it a “jaw-dropping, horrific surrender” and arguing that Washington had granted Tehran major concessions before securing a comprehensive agreement.
Rice said Iran had already been allowed to sell oil freely, use the international banking system and move towards regaining access to frozen assets before finalising a broader nuclear settlement.
“This is a very bad outcome,” she said. “It was obvious for decades that the only way to resolve this problem is through diplomacy.”
She also questioned whether the proposed arrangement adequately addressed Israel’s security concerns and warned that Iran’s nuclear programme remained intact.
“There is nothing in that agreement that requires that the nuclear material … will be removed from Iran,” Rice said.
The latest diplomatic push follows months of tensions centred on Iran’s nuclear programme and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
The Trump administration has maintained that military pressure forced Iran back to the negotiating table. Critics argue that diplomacy could have been pursued without conflict and say any final agreement must include verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear activities and regional influence.
(IANS)
