Iran's negotiating delegation suspended participation in peace talks with the United States in Switzerland on Sunday in protest over public statements made by US President Donald Trump during the negotiations.
Trump posted on Truth Social warning Iran to stop supporting what he described as its "highly paid proxies in Lebanon," and threatened to "hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder" if Tehran did not comply.
Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported that the Iranian delegation formally protested Trump's remarks, describing them as a blatant violation of the memorandum of understanding governing the negotiations, which obliges the United States to refrain from issuing threats during the negotiation process.
The first round of four-party talks involving Iran, the United States, Qatar and Pakistan lasted approximately 80 minutes before negotiators suspended discussions to consult their respective capitals. Iranian state media reported that the session focused on Lebanon and the implementation of the memorandum, and did not include discussions on Iran's nuclear programme.
Iran's IRNA news agency reported that the Iranian delegation left the negotiations building after meeting with the Qatari delegation.
The Iranian delegation declined to participate in a group photo with the US delegation, and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran's negotiating team, refused to enter the room during the subsequent press conference.
Ghalibaf said Iran would not be deterred by Washington's statements.
"We do not give any weight to American threats. Do they not think that if their threats had any effect, they would not have reached the state of helplessness they are in today? They should be careful in their statements. Our armed forces are ready to respond in another way. However much they speak, we are the ones who act on the ground."
Iranian state television quoted a member of the negotiating team as saying broader negotiations would not continue if the war in Lebanon is not ended.
An Iranian source said the talks had paused but had not ended, with back-channel dialogue ongoing. A senior Pakistani official said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was meeting with the Iranian delegation to persuade them to remain on site.
The Switzerland talks were convened to begin implementing a memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran earlier in the week, establishing a 60-day window for further negotiations. The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, alongside special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.