The Iranians bragged that the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi snubbed Vice President JD Vance during a photo op opportunity before peace talks Sunday.
Footage showed Araqchi walking into the room where Vance, the rest of the US delegation, and mediators were waiting in front of the cameras — before he was then captured leaving after embracing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Vance was in the corner during the encounter.
Iranian state media also claimed that its delegation refused to participate in any joint media appearance before talks with the US — a claim which US officials have hit back at.
“Iranian representatives previously agreed to a press availability at the beginning of the meeting,” a US official explained to The Post.
“They even brought state media with them to cover it, who were pre-staged at the event. Despite this, they left the meeting upon seeing the volume of press in attendance and then distributed an inaccurate account of the situation through state media.”
Meanwhile, lefty critics of Vance on social media also harped on about another moment during the photo op before talks between the US and Iran unfolded.
Right before the talks got underway, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani walked by Vance and embraced Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Progressives on social media described the moment as a snub of Vance by Qatar’s top official; however, a US official told The Post that, in reality, the vice president had met with Al Thani for hours beforehand.
“This is complete nonsense,” the official explained. “The US delegation had just spent hours with the Qataris and there was no need to re-greet someone having just spent hours with.
“The decision to give statements together before meeting was done impromptu, which is why it wasn’t a staged greeting.”
Some conservative influencers, including Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President Trump, alleged that a bot operation was trying to trick the public into thinking there was friction between Vance and the prime minister of Qatar.
“Bots, ‘influencers,’ and pundits are in lockstep pushing a coordinated lie claiming that Vice President … and the U.S. delegation were snubbed in Switzerland,” he argued. “This is pure BS! The op is so obvious.”
Iranian state media also reported that Tehran’s delegation walked out after about 80 minutes into the negotiations due to a “difficult phase” in the talks following Trump’s fiery remarks threatening the regime.
A US official, however, downplayed the diplomatic row.
“The Iranians never left and are still here meeting and negotiating deep into the night,” the official insisted.
“We’ve talked about the Strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues, and details of implementing the MOU, among other topics. President Trump works all hours of the day and night, and our delegation is taking the same approach.”
Sunday marked the first day of peace talks between the US and Iran under the 14-point memorandum of understanding that was signed last week. Under the MOU, the two sides have agreed to extend the cease-fire for 60 days.
But key details such as how Iran will address its stockpile or highly enriched uranium remain unresolved.
