Iran cut short direct talks with the United States in Switzerland after President Donald Trump threatened on social media to attack Iran unless it stopped funding Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia. The talks had begun the previous weekend at the Bürgenstock resort, and Trump’s posts immediately became a major disruption in the negotiations.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was not aware of the threat when he was preparing to meet U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance because he had left his phone outside the negotiating room. After an aide briefed him, Ghalibaf confronted Vance and said the threats violated the first paragraph of a memorandum of understanding Trump had signed only days earlier, which bars the United States and Iran from attacking or threatening each other. Iran’s delegation then ended the face-to-face meetings.
Ghalibaf later told Iranian state television that he told Vance, “Today your president threatened. You must understand that we never negotiate under threat or pressure.” He said the American side later asked, through intermediaries, for another meeting, but the Iranian delegation refused. An American source said Vance explained in the room that Trump meant the United States would respond if Tehran violated the deal, and that Vance had pushed for a pause so the Iranians could consider the proposals, not because of Trump’s comments.
The report said mediators had warned the U.S. throughout the lengthy talks that Trump’s social media posts could undermine efforts to reach an agreement. They also tried to persuade Iran to ignore Washington’s public statements and focus on what U.S. negotiators were saying privately. Trump reportedly told aides that he wanted to appear “as unstable as possible” to push Iran to the negotiating table, and Iranian diplomats said his unusual style led them to study his 1987 book, “The Art of the Deal,” to understand his tactics.
