I find them...: JD Vance clears air on whether Iran snubbed him during talks

JD Vance was standing just a few meters away when Iran's delegation briefly walked out of high-stakes talks in Switzerland, but the US vice president says there was no diplomatic snub and no reason to read too much into the viral moment.

Speaking before boarding Air Force Two on Monday, he pushed back against speculation that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had deliberately ignored him during the weekend negotiations in Switzerland, which were aimed at advancing an agreement between Washington and Tehran.

He made the clarification after a video from the Swiss resort of Burgenstock went viral and tensions visible in the clip were hard to miss. In the footage, Araghchi can be seen entering the meeting area and speaking briefly with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Asim Munir, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi before turning back and walking out with his delegation.

Iranian media later said the move was intentional. Vance, however, dismissed the narrative.

"No," Vance said when asked whether he felt snubbed by the Iranian diplomat.

'EXTREMELY CONFUSING' BUT STILL TALKING

While rejecting claims of a diplomatic slight, Vance admitted that negotiations with Tehran can often be difficult to interpret.

"I mean, trust me, I've spent a lot of time dealing with the Iranians over the last few months," he told reporters.

"Sometimes I find them extremely confusing as negotiators."

Despite the social media attention surrounding the incident, Vance said the reality inside the negotiating room was very different.

"The social media firestorm" suggested talks were falling apart, he said, but "we proceeded to talk to them for like the next nine hours."

TEHRAN ANGERED BY TRUMP'S THREAT

The incident unfolded during the opening round of quadrilateral talks under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. Iranian state media later linked the walkout to two issues.

The sudden exit appeared to catch some officials off guard. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif looked visibly surprised as Araghchi and members of the Iranian delegation turned around and left the room. Vance watched the scene unfold before approaching the Pakistani delegation.

First, Tehran reportedly objected to a planned joint photograph with American officials, describing it as a US "media show". Second, Iranian officials were angered over President Donald Trump's threat to attack Iran again.

As the talks were underway, Trump issued a warning to Tehran over Hezbollah's activities in Lebanon.

"Iran must immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

According to Iranian media reports, Tehran formally conveyed its objections to Washington before briefly leaving the talks.

NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE DESPITE TENSIONS

Despite the drama, the negotiations did not collapse.

Iranian officials said discussions resumed and continued for around 80 minutes, focusing on sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets and implementation of commitments under the Islamabad MoU.

Vance described Sunday as a "very, very good day" and said negotiators made significant progress.

Before leaving Switzerland, he urged reporters not to place too much weight on narratives emerging online.

"Mistrust a little bit what you see coming out of Iranian social media," he said.

Although Vance has now returned to the US, he stressed that the diplomatic effort is far from over.

"We left a lot of our team. The Iranians left a lot of their team at the resort there to keep on working at it," he said. The US VP also reiterated his claim that Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country, even as Tehran continues to deny making any new commitments regarding its nuclear programme.

Technical discussions are expected to continue throughout the week as negotiators attempt to turn the preliminary understandings reached in Switzerland into a more comprehensive agreement.

- Ends

With inputs from agencies