The Iranian delegation in the Geneva negotiations refused to participate in a planned joint handshake and photo ceremony with the US team at the start of the meeting, according to a source close to the Iranian delegation cited by Tasnim. The report says US negotiators and the mediators had prepared the photo op but the Iranian side objected.
The Iranian delegation refused a planned joint handshake with the U.S. team at the start of the Geneva talks on Sunday evening, a source close to the delegation told the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The refusal follows a string of reported Iranian rebuffs of photo opportunities and ceremonial gestures throughout the negotiations, deepening the diplomatic tension in the room.
As The Zioneer reported earlier, the thread of refusals began Sunday at 16:48 Jerusalem, when Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf was said to have declined to enter the room during a joint press conference, according to i24NEWS and Tasnim. By 16:48 the same hour, Vice President JD Vance had confirmed a 'last minute' Iranian refusal of a joint photo, and sources told i24NEWS that the Iranian delegation was aware of the planned photograph — even that Iranian media were present — but backed out at the last second. The new detail, reported by Tasnim at 20:15 Jerusalem, adds a handshake refusal to that sequence.
In the wider context, The Zioneer reported Sunday 20:11 Jerusalem that the Iranian delegation had left the talks venue in protest over President Trump's threats, according to Tasnim. On June 10, The Zioneer noted Iran's rejection of a Qatari proposal for a trilateral U.S.-Iran meeting. On June 18, Iranian daily Khorasan had warned that U.S. officials would avoid joint photographs with their Iranian counterparts in Geneva.
What remains open is whether the handshake refusal was a coordinated move by the entire delegation or a snap decision by the lead negotiator, and whether it was connected to the earlier walkout or to broader instructions from Tehran.
6 developments
- DevelopingIranian Khorasan daily warns US officials will avoid joint photos with Iranian counterparts in Geneva
- StrongIran rejects Qatari proposal for trilateral meeting with US
- DevelopingSource: Iran refuses to meet IAEA chief Grossi at Switzerland talks
- DevelopingIran sent no new proposal to the US, source close to Iranian negotiating team says
Source and signal
- Internal intake