The first round of peace talks between America and Iran that started in Switzerland on Sunday was stopped midway. However, Iran said that the talks have not ended, but have only been stopped for some time. This tension increased when the Iranian delegation got angry over a statement by US President Donald Trump and left the meeting for some time.
Vice President JD Vance participated in the talks from the US side, while from Iran’s side, Parliament Speaker and Chief Negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi were present. This conversation is taking place after the interim agreement which was signed by US President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pejeshkian on Wednesday. Before the start of the meeting, Ghalibaf met representatives of Qatar and Pakistan separately. Pakistan is playing the role of mediator in this agreement.
US accused of not fulfilling the first condition
Before the talks, Iran clearly said that to move ahead in the talks, America will first have to follow the terms of the agreement. Iran says that America has not yet been able to stop Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Iran alleges that America did not fulfill the first condition of the agreement, i.e. the responsibility of implementing ceasefire on all fronts.
In the first meeting which lasted for about 80 minutes, issues like Lebanon war, relief in economic sanctions imposed on Iran and return of Iranian assets stuck abroad were discussed. Iran claimed that a draft has been prepared to relax the restrictions on its oil exports. There were also talks on releasing the frozen assets of Iran with the help of Qatar.
Tension increased due to Trump’s threat
Tension increased when Trump warned that Iran should stop the activities of its supporting groups in Lebanon, otherwise it may have to face serious consequences. In protest against this, the Iranian delegation walked out of the meeting for some time. Later Ghalibaf said that America should be careful in its statements and Iran’s army is ready for any response.
However, JD Vance said that it is normal to have differences of opinion in such difficult negotiations and the talks are moving forward. Due to this dispute, the proposed joint photo and handshake program between the representatives of the two countries was also cancelled. On the other hand, the situation in Lebanon remained somewhat calm, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly said that Israel is not going to remove the security strip created in southern Lebanon at the moment.
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