First Thing: Iran says there is ‘progress’ in talks despite Trump’s coarse threats

Good morning. Iran’s foreign minister has declared “progress” after the first day of talks between high-ranking officials from Washington and Tehran ended in Switzerland, despite a tense opening marked by Donald Trump’s threats to restart attacks. Abbas Araghchi said Pakistani and Qatari mediation “has delivered major progress to end [the] Lebanon war”. Iran has been adamant that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon must end as part of any deal. The Israelis are not directly participating in the talks. What has been agreed? A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the ⁠US and Iran agreed a roadmap towards⁠ a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks between lower-ranked officials ​will continue for the rest of the week. In a development that is critical to unlocking progress, the US Treasury was also preparing to issue a 60-day waiver lifting sanctions on oil, petrochemicals and derivatives. What threat did Trump issue to the Iranians? Over the weekend, Iran said it had reinstated its blockade in the strait of Hormuz in protest at the continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The US president responded on social media, saying: “You close it and you won’t have a country. …