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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Sunday (local time) said that US President Donald Trump's threats against the Islamic Republic during ongoing technical talks as part of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) led to the suspension of the quadrilateral meeting between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan in Switzerland, even as discussions continued on Iranian oil sales, frozen asset releases and mechanisms related to maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iranian state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Baghaei said that while technical-level discussions progressed, Iran decided not to continue the quadrilateral format following Trump's warning to Tehran of hitting it "very hard" if the Islamic Republic "immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon". "The war on all fronts, including Lebanon, must end," Baghaei said, adding that discussions also focused on remaining clauses required to begin final negotiations. He said issues related to the issuance of licences for Iranian oil sales and the release of frozen Iranian assets were also discussed, with what he described as progress on both fronts. "The issuance of the necessary licenses for the sale of oil and the release of Iranian assets were discussed, and good progress was made," he said, as quoted by IRIB. Baghaei added that discussions also included establishing a mechanism to ensure safe maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as a key point of concern. "A mechanism was to be established regarding the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which is important," he added. Baghaei further said that Iran had participated in lengthy discussions that began on Sunday morning, but tensions escalated during the quadrilateral meeting. "During the quadrilateral meeting, the US's threatening statement was published, which caused Iran to announce that it was not willing to continue the quadrilateral meeting under such circumstances," Baghaei said. Iranian Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf described the remarks as a sign of American 'desperation' while sharply criticising the US President, dismissing the comments as ineffective. Following Trump's remarks, Ghalibaf, who is also the chief negotiator from the Iranian side, in a post on X said that Iran would not be intimidated by such threats from Washington and asserted that the country's armed forces were prepared to respond if necessary. His remarks came in response to a statement by Trump, who warned Iran against supporting its 'proxy groups' in the region, particularly in Lebanon, in a veiled reference to Hezbollah. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!" According to the spokesperson, Qatar and Pakistan attempted to keep the talks going in a four-party format, but Iran declined. "Qatar and Pakistan tried to continue the talks, and we said that it would not be in a quadrilateral format," he said. Baghaei stressed that Iran's position was that accountability for commitments must be ensured, particularly in light of concerns over compliance and alleged ceasefire violations by Israel. He added that discussions also covered the framework for a potential final agreement, including mechanisms for monitoring implementation of obligations under the memorandum of understanding. "At this stage, the work of the negotiating team has ended, but the technical teams will continue their work tomorrow," he said, as quoted by IRIB, adding that mediators Qatar and Pakistan would issue a document summarising the agreements reached during the 18-hour session. He further said that oil sales and the release of frozen assets were key preconditions for moving forward toward a final agreement under the memorandum's provisions. (ANI)
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