Iranian delegation walks out of Switzerland peace talks over Trump’s renewed threats
BURGENSTOCK, SWITZERLAND: The high-level peace talks between the United States and Iran were sent into limbo as the Iranian negotiators walked out of the Swiss venue in protest at a stream of threats issued by President Donald Trump.
The picturesque Swiss resort of Burgenstock hosted a crucial diplomatic showdown on Sunday, June 21, as Vice President JD Vance and Iranian negotiators met for the first time under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached between the two enemies last week to end their war, extending a tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.
But even as Vance called on Tehran to build on the moment, Trump’s threats gave the peace talks a rocky start. The president warned that the US would hammer Iran if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz and rein in its proxies.
“You won’t even make it back to your f**king country,” an irate Trump told Iran’s leaders, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.
“You close it, and you won’t have a country,” he said of the Strait of Hormuz, adding, “We may take over the Strait, if we have to. I’ll blow the s**t out of them.”
In a Truth Social post, he 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!!”
Iran stages a walkout in protest of Trump’s threat
Tehran didn't let Trump's threats go unanswered, firing back with a warning of its own. “They would do better to be careful with their statements; our armed forces are ready to respond to them in a different manner. No matter what they say, we are the ones who act,” Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
Amid the ongoing war of words, the peace talks at the Swiss venue failed to last 80 minutes, with Iranian delegates staging a walkout.
“The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, after meeting with the Qatari delegation as one of the mediating parties, left the building where the negotiations were being held,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA said.
“At the same time as the talks began in Switzerland, Donald Trump published a message on X in which he repeated his threats and remarks against Iran,” it added.
However, an Iranian source told CNN that the US-Iran negotiations are stalled, but not over yet, as back-channel dialogues are ongoing to make the diplomatic parties return.
Ghalibaf and another of Iran’s top negotiators, Abbas Araghchi, also refused to participate in a scheduled handshake and joint photo session event with the US team.
The officials described the photo-op as an American “media show,” with the optics raising worries that the US fumbled the start of the negotiations.
JD Vance projects optimism with ‘new leaf’
Vice President Vance started the peace talks with optimism, as he addressed reporters alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“The opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the ending of the Iranian nuclear programme – all of these things have been accomplished,” Vance said. “The question before us is now how much more can we accomplish together. Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East?”
Sharif said he hoped discussions would end with a “wonderful paper in our hands that will promote peace, progress, and prosperity around the globe.”
Following reports of the Iranian walkout, a senior US diplomat engaged in the negotiations later downplayed the diplomatic row, insisting that the peace talks remain ongoing.
“The Iranian delegation is still at the negotiating venue and the US delegation expects to continue working through the night,” the official said, adding that the discussions have included “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran on the Strait and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open.”
