Iran Walks Out of US Peace Talks After Trump Strike
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- Iran's delegation left the Swiss venue on June 21, 2026, where US-Iran talks aimed at permanently ending the West Asia war were underway, according to state news agency IRNA.
- The walkout followed Trump's threat to strike Iran if it did not "immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble," posted on X as the talks began.
- A diplomat with knowledge of the talks told AFP the Iranian delegation "remains engaged" and had "not indicated to the mediators any intention to leave" — directly contradicting IRNA's account.
- Iran's delegation also met with the Qatari delegation, one of the mediating parties, before departing the building.
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator, fired back: "our armed forces are ready to respond to them in a different manner" and told Washington to "be careful with their statements."
- The talks are designed to trigger a 60-day period to settle broader US-Iranian disputes, though Washington and Tehran exchanged threats in parallel with negotiations throughout the day.
Why it matters: The credibility gap is the real story: Iran's state news declared a walkout while a diplomat told AFP talks continue, meaning neither side has actually broken the table despite the parallel threats over Lebanon. That ambiguity leaves the 60-day framework for resolving decades of US-Iran disputes alive but fragile, with each side free to claim leverage from the same day's theater.
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