Iran walked out of Switzerland talksIranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led the Iranian negotiating team, said Monday he walked out of talks in Switzerland after US President Donald Trump issued threats during the negotiations, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.
Speaking about the negotiations that took place Sunday, Qalibaf said Iran had entered the talks while maintaining its opposition to direct dialogue with the US.
"We have principles, and until now we have never wanted to be part of the same dialogue with the Americans," he said.
According to Qalibaf, mediators had insisted the gathering marked the start of talks, but the Iranian side made clear it would participate only in negotiations and not in direct discussions with the US.
"In the middle of the talks, I realized that Trump had issued threats against the president, the negotiating team and attacks on our territory," Qalibaf said.
He said he raised the issue with US Vice President JD Vance, arguing that the remarks violated the memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides.
"I told Vance that we are here in talks and that the first clause of the signed understanding prohibits threats and the use of force. But your president issued threats today," he said.
"You should know that we never negotiate under threats or force."
Qalibaf said the Iranian delegation subsequently ended the meeting and departed.
"We ended the talks, left the meeting and did not return," he said.
According to Qalibaf, the US side later sought another meeting with mediators present, but Tehran rejected the proposal.
"The American side insisted on holding another meeting in the presence of mediators, which we refused," he said.
He added that Qatari and Pakistani mediators later met the Iranian delegation.
"The Qatari and Pakistani mediators came to us, and we told them that we would speak with you, but we would not speak with the American side," Qalibaf said.
He said the discussions lasted around 80 minutes and concluded with a statement issued by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators.
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