Vice President JD Vance indicated that the United States was prepared to build a whole new relationship with Iran — if the nation’s new leadership was truly ready to give up its nuclear dream. Vance made the remarks in Switzerland, where the first round of talks with Iran began under a 60-day memorandum of understanding meant to lay the groundwork for a broader peace deal. “What the president has asked us to do is turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran, and to extend an outstretched hand that says to the people of Iran that if your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability,” Vance said, according to the New York Post. “If they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions for the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country,” he added. “That is certainly our goal.” The vice president’s remarks framed the talks as a possible turning point in U.S.-Iran relations, but also made clear that any improvement would depend on Iran’s willingness to change course. “The opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the ending of the Iranian nuclear program, all of these things have already been accomplished,” Vance said. “The question before us now is, how much more can we accomplish together?” “Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently? Or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference,” he added. Vance’s public offer came as President Donald Trump struck a much harder tone toward Tehran, warning Iran to stop its proxies in Lebanon from escalating the conflict. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social.  “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Vance’s remarks came as Trump separately warned Iran over Hezbollah, placing the diplomatic talks alongside the administration’s public threats of further action if Tehran’s proxies continue causing trouble in Lebanon. The Switzerland talks had been delayed because of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the New York Post. The MOU laid out a template for peace between the United States and Iran while giving both sides 60 days to work toward a more detailed agreement. Trump has also warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that remains central to the talks and to global energy security. “You close it, and you won’t have a country,” Trump said, according to Fox. “You won’t even make it back to your f*cing country.” The president also criticized Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after he said Iran would not give up its right to enrichment and that the United States would be “forced to accept it.” “He better watch his mouth. He better shape up, or we’ll take over the rest of the country,” Trump said, according to the Post. The talks are moving forward as Vance conveys a possible shift in U.S.-Iran relations, while Trump continues to warn Tehran over Hezbollah and the Strait of Hormuz.