Pakistani side expects Switzerland talks to resume soon after Trump threats enraged Iranians: Sources

Pakistan is expecting the Switzerland talks to resume "soon" after the Iranian side left the table in protest against President Donald Trump's threatening social media post, Pakistani sources told Anadolu on Sunday.

Pakistani sources, though, downplayed the development, saying it "happens in this kind of situation"; however, they acknowledged that the Iranian delegation is "very angry" at Trump's post.

"Pakistani and Qatari officials are in touch with Iranian negotiators and trying to persuade them to resume the talks," a source close to the process said.

They expressed the hope that the talks would resume "soon." The second round of talks had yet to begin as of 1900 GMT.

Iranian media reported that Tehran has refused to resume the second round in protest against a fresh social media post by Trump, in which he urged Iran to "immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble" or Washington will hit Tehran "very hard again."

In return, Qalibaf dismissed US threats, saying Tehran is prepared to respond if necessary.

"Don't they think to themselves that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn't have reached the point of desperation they are in today? We don't count on the American threats," Qalibaf posted on US social media platform X.

The US and Iranian delegations, led by their respective chief negotiators, Vice President JD Vance and Bagher Qalibaf, held a 100-minute first round of much-awaited direct talks in Burgenstock, Switzerland, to discuss ways to implement the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 17.

Technical teams from both sides are still waiting for approval from their respective leadership to resume technical-level talks because key negotiators from both sides have yet to agree on a framework to move forward, according to the sources.

Iran is pressing the US to halt continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon to further proceed with the ongoing talks in Switzerland, sources said.

"The Iranian side is insisting on two key issues: a complete end to Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon and a schedule for release of its frozen accounts before the technical teams from both sides formally kick off their talks on implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," a source said.

The US, for its part, according to the sources, was of the view that it is "pressuring" Israel to "completely" end its strikes on southern Lebanon. However, it demands that Hezbollah stop its attacks on Israeli forces as well.

On the frozen accounts issue, the US side insisted on discussing the matter in talks between the two technical teams, sources maintained.

Both sides, particularly the Iranian delegation, remain in touch with their leadership to seek further guidance on the latest developments, they further said.

The signing of the deal by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had set the stage for direct talks in Switzerland.