White House denies claims of JD Vance being snubbed at US-Iran peace talks

BURGENSTOCK, SWITZERLAND: The White House has come forward to vehemently shoot down any claims that JD Vance was left out in the cold by Qatari officials during the closely watched peace negotiations.

The 41-year-old Vice President, along with other US delegations, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, is spearheading the first round of negotiations with Iran at the scenic Swiss resort of Bürgenstock under a peace framework signed electronically just days ago.

The memorandum of understanding established the groundwork for peace, but negotiators are now working to transform that framework into a comprehensive agreement.

Video sparks claim of Qatari leader snubbing Vance

The speculation of an awkward moment sparked after a video went viral showing Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani walk by Vance and embrace Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

Vance appeared visibly irritated as the dignitaries lined up beside him. Journalist Pamela Geller posted the video on X, writing, “Watch Qatar snub, Vance. So embarrassing.”

Her clip racked up 2.1 million views on X and was shared by thousands of accounts.

However, United States officials have denied any claims of diplomatic snub, informing The New York Post that, in reality, the vice president had met with Al Thani for hours beforehand.

“This is complete nonsense,” the official explained. “The US delegation had just spent hours with the Qataris, and there was no need to re-greet someone having just spent hours with,”

“The decision to give statements together before meeting was done impromptu, which is why it wasn’t a staged greeting,” they added.

Iranians brags negotiators snubbed Vance

The alleged slight was not the only moment that fueled speculation about Vance's standing during the high-stakes peace talks.

According to the NY Post, the Iranians bragged that the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi snubbed the Vice President during a photo op opportunity before peace talks on Sunday.

Footage captured Araqchi entering a room where Vance, US negotiators, and international mediators were assembled before cameras, only for him to later depart after greeting and embracing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Iranian state media also claimed that its delegation refused to participate in any joint media appearance before talks with the US.

However, US officials denied this claim, as well, stating that “Iranian representatives previously agreed to a press availability at the beginning of the meeting.”

“They even brought state media with them to cover it, who were pre-staged at the event. Despite this, they left the meeting upon seeing the volume of press in attendance and then distributed an inaccurate account of the situation through state media.”

Iranian state media reported that Tehran's delegation temporarily walked out roughly 80 minutes into the talks after negotiations entered what it described as a "difficult phase" following Trump's fiery threats against the regime.

“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.”

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.