Vice President JD Vance, leading the American delegation in diplomatic negotiations this weekend with Iran in Switzerland, told reporters on Sunday that “the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with [Iran]” if the Islamic Republic’s leadership is willing to give up nuclear weapons and ends its backing of terrorist proxies. 

“If your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions in the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country,” Vance said at a news briefing, according to The New York Times. 

Vance described the approach of the U.S. delegation, which he is leading alongside White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as offering an “outstretched hand” to the people of Iran. 

The Iranian delegation is being led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. The prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar are serving as mediators. 

Vance also downplayed Hezbollah’s continued attacks against Israel, which have prompted Israeli military retaliation in Lebanon. “We’ve seen great progress over the last couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon. These things are always a little bit messy,” Vance said.

But on Sunday morning, as Vance was holding his press conference, President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, called on Iran to “immediately stop” its “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 wrote.