Just hours before the direct Iranian-American talks scheduled for Sunday night to Monday morning in Switzerland, Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi took to their 'X' accounts to broadcast underlying messages.
Ghalibaf posted an image on his 'X' account featuring an airplane with the phrase "Minab 168" in reference to the number of students who perished in a U.S. strike during confrontations between the two countries. The Iranian Parliament Speaker commented, "I consider the innocent children of Minab and all of Iran's beloved martyrs to be watching my every move... God forbid I ever bring shame to the Iranian people."
He also later uploaded a video featuring a student from Minab's school.
Meanwhile, Araqchi shared an image of the Iranian national football team participating in the World Cup in the U.S., depicted with Minab’s children appearing as angels guarding the ball.
Iran's chief negotiator later explained on Monday, while speaking aboard the plane returning from the four-party talks in Switzerland, why the Iranian delegation refused to take a photo with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. He said, "We have principles, and we never wanted to appear in a photo or single camera shot with the Americans."
He added that mediators “insisted that this was only the beginning of talks, but we clarified that we wouldn't pose in a single picture with them. We came only to negotiate, not to take photos or be part of the same scene."
Message for the Domestic Audience
Commenting on these posts, Iranian affairs expert Masoud Faki stated that the tweets from Araqchi and Ghalibaf regarding Minab are "messages to the domestic audience and critics of the negotiations, reaffirming that Iran will not forget those it describes as its martyrs."
Regarding the refusal to take photographs, Faki explained that Iranians "did not want to appear in a handshake scene with the side that assassinated their Supreme Leader and armed forces and political leaders. They consider the United States an enemy, according to statements from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and a representative of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard." He added, "Therefore, they do not want to show that things have normalized between them and who they call the enemy."
A video circulated, showing the Iranian delegation, especially Araqchi, leaving one of the halls as the American delegation led by J.D. Vance, Vice President to Donald Trump, entered.
This scene fueled speculation and rumors about the Iranian delegation’s withdrawal, which Vance later dismissed as baseless.