Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the United States against issuing threats, saying Iran's armed forces are ready to respond in a different manner. He said, “We do not take American threats into account. They would do better to be careful with their statements; our armed forces are ready to respond to them in a different manner. No matter what they say, we are the ones who act” [1, 2].
The warning followed a sharp threat by US President Donald Trump on June 21. Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran must immediately stop its “highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon” and threatened to “hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder” [1]. He also warned if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, “you won’t have a country” and that the US might seize control of the Strait and collect tolls if no deal is reached [2].
Trump’s comments came on the same day Iran and the US held talks in Switzerland with mediation from Qatar and Pakistan. The talks aimed at ending fighting in Lebanon, focusing on implementing a memorandum of understanding, and did not address Iran’s nuclear program [1, 3, 4, 2]. The first round lasted about 80 minutes [3, 4].
Reports emerged that Iran’s delegation walked out of the talks after Trump’s threat, according to Iran’s IRNA agency, but a diplomat told AFP the delegation remained engaged and had not quit the negotiations [3, 4].
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as necessary” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons [3, 4]. The region has seen over 4,100 deaths in fighting involving Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon [3, 4].
The talks included a planned settlement period of 60 days, with the goal of ending hostilities in Lebanon [3, 4]. The next steps in the negotiations have not been announced.
The Swiss talks reflect continued international efforts to curb tensions from the ongoing Middle East conflict. Iran’s strong rejection of US threats indicates deep mistrust remains despite diplomatic engagement.
