▲ Iranian negotiation team
The Iranian delegation meeting with U.S. officials in Switzerland has walked out of the negotiations in protest against threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Iranian media reports.
Reuters reported on the 21st (local time) that the Iranian Tasnim News Agency cited a source earlier today regarding the development.
A member of the Iranian negotiation team told the Iranian media outlet, "If the war in Lebanon does not end, negotiations on other topics will not proceed," Reuters added.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the talks, which were being held as a four-party meeting with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, were suspended after 80 minutes. The negotiations have now hit a major impasse following the Iranian delegation's sudden departure, the agency said.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Parliament and head of the Iranian delegation, dismissed the U.S. pressure, asking, "Do you not think that if your threats had been even slightly effective, you would not have reached this desperate state today?" He added, "We do not take U.S. threats seriously at all."
He further issued a stern warning, stating, "It would be better for the U.S. to speak carefully. Our military is prepared to respond in other ways, and we are not swayed by whatever they say."
Earlier today, President Trump threatened on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he would launch powerful airstrikes against Iran if it did not stop the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.