No photo op: Iran wants action, not handshakes
- Politics
June 21, 2026 - 20:55
Iran rejects a symbolic handshake with US officials, insisting that progress on implementing the MoU matters more than diplomatic optics
TEHRAN - Iran and the United States held talks in Switzerland on Sunday to advance the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed a few days ago.
Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi lead Iran’s delegation in Geneva.
The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir, is leading the mediation effort alongside Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Upon arriving at the venue earlier on Sunday, Qalibaf held separate meetings with the Qatari and Pakistani mediators before leading his delegation into the four-party talks later in the day with US representatives.
Araghchi also met separately with his Swiss counterpart on Sunday morning.
Organizers and the US side had planned a joint photo opportunity, including a handshake between members of the Iranian and American delegations, before the start of the meeting. However, the Iranian delegation rejected the proposal and informed organizers that it would not participate in any joint media appearance with US officials. The move underscored Tehran’s preference for substantive negotiations over symbolic gestures, avoiding imagery that could be used to suggest diplomatic progress regardless of the talks’ actual outcome.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian delegation, said the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is at the top of the agenda in the talks with the United States, alongside issues such as frozen Iranian assets and Iranian oil exports.
“The Zionist regime continues to violate its commitments in Lebanon. This issue will be the main topic of discussion in today’s talks,” Baghaei said in a video shared by IRNA.
Speaking alongside Vance, the Qatari and Pakistani prime ministers thanked both the US and Iranian delegations for their efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
“I think that every one of you has highlighted how important and historic this is, not only for the security of the region but also for the security of the world and for the global economy,” the Qatari prime minister said.
“I would like to thank all of you for your leadership and determination that put us in this room. This is not really the main celebration; this is just the beginning, and I wish everyone all the best. Qatar will stay dedicated to this partnership to support this mediation until the end—until we reach a solution.”
Vance said he hopes Washington and Tehran can reset their relationship, describing the Geneva meeting as “historic.” He nevertheless repeated accusations that Iran is a source of regional instability.
Trump also renewed threats against Iran.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
Trump’s threats came despite the 14-point MoU signed by him and President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday. The interim agreement includes a commitment by both sides to pursue a final settlement within 60 days. It also calls for a permanent end to hostilities across multiple fronts, including Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the phased lifting of US sanctions, the removal of the naval blockade on Iran within 30 days, and the restoration of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Saturday, Iran’s central military command officially declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all maritime traffic over US and Israeli violations of the Tehran-Washington MoU.
Iran has stressed that Lebanon is a red line and that Israeli strikes constitute a violation of the MoU, which calls for an end to the regime’s war. Since the MoU was signed, Israel has killed dozens of people in Lebanon.
The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. They believed that Iran would capitulate quickly. Despite Trump’s claims that the war severely degraded Iran’s military capabilities, Iranian missile and drone strikes against Israel and US bases in the Persian Gulf pushed Washington to accept a ceasefire on April 8.
Iran and the United States are now continuing post-MoU negotiations aimed at turning the agreement into a lasting settlement.
The war has come at a high cost for the United States. In late April, Democratic lawmakers and several economists estimated that the total cost of the conflict to the US economy could reach between $630 billion and $1 trillion. The war contributed to higher fuel prices and inflationary pressures, while a prolonged conflict risked creating additional political challenges for Trump ahead of the congressional midterm elections.
During the 39-day war, Trump was forced to confront the limits of military pressure against Iran. In late April, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the United States was being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership.
For now, Trump’s latest threats, issued while negotiations are ongoing, appear aimed at deflecting attention from the setbacks suffered by the United States and Israel during the conflict. He is seeking to project an image of victory over Iran despite continuing debate within the United States over the war’s outcome. According to assessments cited by several American media outlets, the campaign failed to achieve its stated strategic objectives. Israel Hayom also said earlier this month that Iran emerged stronger after the war, and Israel has become weaker.
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