Iranian Delegation Flatly Rejects Photo Opportunity with US Team

A source close to the Iranian negotiating team in Geneva revealed to Iranian media Tasnim that the live broadcast of the talks was halted due to a refusal to participate in a photo opportunity during the meeting. The source told a Tasnim correspondent that the United States delegation and the meeting organisers had initially planned a handshake and photo session between the Iranian and US delegations at the opening of the negotiations. However, the head and members of the Iranian negotiating team rejected the formal event. They announced they would not attend the photo session with the US delegation. Following the rejection and absence of the Iranian negotiating team from the ceremony, the live broadcast and photo session were ultimately cancelled. Only after that did the Iranian delegation enter the meeting room. According to the source, the US delegation had requested five minutes from the Iranian team to allow journalists to leave the negotiation room. The pre-negotiation ceremony was eventually held without the presence of the Iranian delegation. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that Tehran’s participation in the new round of talks in Switzerland aims to ensure the implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. He stressed that negotiations towards a final agreement cannot begin unless the five main points in the document have been implemented. In a statement on Sunday, Esmaeil Baqaei, who also acts as spokesman for the Iranian negotiating delegation under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said the meeting in Switzerland was focused on monitoring the implementation of commitments agreed in the Islamabad MoU signed on 18 June. Baqaei explained that the one-day agenda included separate morning meetings between the Iranian delegation and mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. The agenda then continued with a quadrilateral meeting in the afternoon involving representatives from Iran, the United States, Qatar, and Pakistan. He stressed that Iran immediately began overseeing the implementation of the memorandum of understanding right after its signing. ‘Implementing a document is far more important than merely signing it,’ Baqaei said. ‘The diplomatic process to achieve an outcome is one thing, but the far more important issue is ensuring its implementation proceeds,’ he added.