Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Jun 22: Iran has suspended its participation in a four-party dialogue involving the United States, Qatar and Pakistan during ongoing negotiations in Switzerland, citing recent threats issued by Washington, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran decided to withdraw from the talks after a “threatening statement” by the United States during the discussions.

According to Iranian media reports, Qatar and Pakistan attempted to keep the negotiations on track, but Iran informed participants that it would not continue under the prevailing circumstances.

The Iranian delegation emphasised the need to hold all parties accountable for honouring their commitments and expressed concerns over what it described as a breach of trust, particularly citing Israel's alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement.

The development came a day after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran against supporting its allied groups in Lebanon.

In a message posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said Iran must “immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble”, warning that the United States would respond forcefully if the situation escalated.

Despite the tensions, negotiations between the United States and Iran continued late into Sunday night in Switzerland, with American officials saying the discussions had yielded preliminary progress on key regional issues.

US Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the American delegation, said negotiators had already achieved meaningful progress during the first day of talks held at the Burgenstock Resort.

“We've already made great progress over just the last few hours, and I expect that we'll make additional progress in the hours to come,” Vance told reporters before entering the meeting.

A senior US diplomat involved in the discussions later said the American delegation had been engaged in continuous negotiations since Vance's arrival in Switzerland.

Apart from Iran's nuclear programme, the talks have also focused on the security situation in Lebanon, where renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have raised concerns about broader regional stability.

US officials said discussions included mechanisms to prevent escalation and measures to reinforce the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.

The diplomatic process remains fragile, with both sides attempting to balance negotiations over Iran's nuclear activities, regional security concerns and efforts to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.