Iranian delegation pauses US-Iran talks in protest of Trump’s threatening remarks

Xinhua News Agency, June 21, Bürgen Mountain, Switzerland (reporters Wang Lu, Meng Fanyu) — On the 21st, the Iranian delegation holding Iran-U.S. negotiations at Bürgen Mountain in Switzerland suddenly suspended the talks in protest of U.S. President Trump’s threat remarks delivered to Iran that day.

That day, Trump warned on social media that Iran must immediately stop the “proxy” actions of its “agents” in Lebanon, otherwise the United States would again launch strikes against Iran—“and with even more ferocity.”

Iranian media reported that the Iranian delegation lodged a protest with the U.S. side over Trump’s remarks, then left the venue and paused negotiations that had already lasted 80 minutes, turning to internal consultations. The report said Iran is formulating an appropriate response plan.

Meanwhile, in a social media post, Kalibaf, head of the Iranian delegation and chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, wrote: “They’d better be careful with their words. Our armed forces are ready to respond to them in different ways.”

In response to this incident, Lebanese “Plaza” TV reported that Iran’s response is clear: unless Trump apologizes for his threat remarks and Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Iranian delegation will not return to the negotiating table.

Xinhua reporters on the scene saw that the negotiation time had been extended compared with the original schedule. It remains unknown whether the Iranian delegation will return to the negotiating table afterward.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

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