Iranian negotiators suspend talks with US in protest over Trump threats

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Source: The Guardian

Sun 21 Jun 2026 15.04 EDT
First published on Sun 21 Jun 2026 06.04 EDT


Iranian negotiators have suspended high-stakes talks with the US in Switzerland in protest at a stream of threats issued by Trump to bomb Iran, and even to kidnap the Iranian negotiating team unless the strait of Hormuz is reopened.

It was not clear if the Iran walkout was permanent or a symbolic show of protest. But before leaving the face-to-face talks in Burgenstock, Iran reached a draft agreement over how the US will issue a waiver lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, one of the key preconditions before Iran will open talks on its nuclear file.

Iranian officials claimed the waivers would be issued soon, adding progress had also been made on unfreezing Iranian assets in overseas bank accounts. Iran and the US last week signed a memorandum of understanding designed to lift the blockade on the strait of Hormuz, leading to 60 days of talks on Iran’s civil nuclear programme.

Trump’s stream of aggressive threats on social media and in TV interviews filtered across the Atlantic to the negotiating site, causing anger among the Iranian negotiating team, who said they represented an unacceptable threat to their personal safety. They pointed out the memorandum signed by Trump last week included a non-aggression pact. Trump’s threats contrasted with the tone adopted by his vice-president, JD Vance, who said he had been asked by the president to use the talks to turn over a new leaf with Iran.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/21/us-iran-talks-jd-vance-switzerland-strait-of-hormuz-lebanon