Peace talks between the United States and Iran suffered a major setback on Sunday after the Iranian delegation abruptly walked out of negotiations in Switzerland, accusing US President Donald Trump of undermining the fragile diplomatic process with new threats. 

The talks were being held at the Bürgenstock resort near Lake Lucerne and were seen as a crucial step toward turning a temporary ceasefire into a broader agreement after months of conflict. However, tensions boiled over after remarks Trump made in a Fox News interview, forcing Iranian officials to leave the venue in protest. 

Iranian state media claimed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi deliberately snubbed US Vice President JD Vance before negotiations began on Sunday. According to Al Mayadeen, Tehran’s delegation has suspended official meetings with the US and says negotiations will not continue unless President Trump issues an apology for his latest threats. 

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US officials, however, have strongly rejected that account, calling it misleading and inaccurate.

Video – JD Vance stays, Sharif left disappointed, photo-op cancelled 

According to several Iranian news outlets, negotiators from Tehran refused to participate in a planned photo session with US Vice President JD Vance before walking out of the venue. One report even suggested that a Qatari negotiator ignored Vance during the diplomatic exchanges. 

Video footage from the venue showed Araghchi entering a room where Vance, members of the US delegation and international mediators were gathered in front of cameras before the talks. 

The Iranian foreign minister was then seen greeting and embracing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Shortly afterwards, he left the room. Vance was standing off to one side during the interaction. Iranian state media later portrayed the incident as a deliberate snub of the US vice president 

Before departing, Iranian officials issued a statement saying: “The Iranian delegation has expressed its protest to the American side and is now reviewing an appropriate response to Donald Trump’s recent verbal threats.” 

Videos and reports circulating after the walkout showed Sharif appearing visibly tired, shocked and disappointed as news of the Iranian exit reached him. 

Despite Iran’s departure, Vice President JD Vance remained at the resort along with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. 

The American team continued discussions with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has spent months trying to bring both sides together. Pakistan, along with Qatar, has played a major mediating role since the conflict ended. 

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US says Iran had already agreed to media appearance 

American officials pushed back against those claims and insisted that Iranian representatives had initially agreed to appear before reporters. “Iranian representatives previously agreed to a press availability at the beginning of the meeting,” a US official told The New York Post.

According to the official, Iran had even brought state media personnel to cover the event.

“They even brought state media with them to cover it, who were pre-staged at the event. Despite this, they left the meeting upon seeing the volume of press in attendance and then distributed an inaccurate account of the situation through state media,” the official said.

US-Iran war: Months of mediation hit a roadblock 

The discussions were part of the first direct engagement between Washington and Tehran since the signing of a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) earlier this month. The agreement was reached to end a brief but intense conflict that began in February 2026.

Under the agreement reached in June, both sides committed to ending military operations, respecting each other’s sovereignty, reopening the Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic and working toward a broader deal covering sanctions relief, nuclear issues, oil exports and post-war reconstruction. The framework gave negotiators 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, to reach a final settlement. 

While the talks have hit turbulence, the ceasefire agreement itself remains in place for now.

The US continues to push for implementation of the MOU and has signalled that it may ease some sanctions and unfreeze certain Iranian assets if progress is made. Iran, meanwhile, remains under pressure over its nuclear programme, its support for regional groups such as Hezbollah and disruptions to shipping in the Gulf.