Was JD Vance snubbed by Qatar's prime minister?

“This is BRUTAL. Vance flew to Geneva for the Iran talks and the Qatari minister just flat out refused to greet him. (...) The most powerful country on earth is having a very bad day in Switzerland.” This is the claim made by Mario Nawfal, an influencer close to Elon Musk, in an X post shared on June 22 that has garnered more than two million views.

The post features a video showing Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani greeting his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, as he walks right past US Vice President JD Vance without shaking his hand. 

The scene took place during the US-Iran talks organised near Lucerne in central Switzerland – not Geneva – where Qatar and Pakistan are serving as mediators. 

The clip quickly sparked widespread reaction. In the comments section, some viewed the scene as a diplomatic snub to the US. 

Others went even further, posting Islamophobic comments, such as “Don't worry Vance, you're better off not touching Muslims, you don't know where those unclean hands have been!" and "Let this be a lesson to VP Vance. Never negotiate with terrorists!!"

However, while the images are real, they are being presented out of context.

Discussions preceded the filmed footage

When asked by an Al Jazeera journalist about the viral video that same day, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani brushed aside the idea of a diplomatic incident.

“I was spending a few hours actually with the vice president [Vance] just a few seconds before I entered the room, and I actually didn't see the prime minister of Pakistan at all since he arrived,” he said. 

“So I went to say hello to them, and I wasn't expecting the press over there. And they just made the issue too big. We've been meeting together the whole day – since the morning we were together.”

The Qatari prime minister also posted a photograph on social media showing him in a working session alongside Vance and Jared Kushner, the US Special Envoy for Peace Missions. The picture appears to corroborate his statements. 

This development comes amid US-Iran negotiations that began on June 21 in Switzerland, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. The initial session laid the groundwork for a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, with discussions focusing on Iran's nuclear program, regional stability, and security in the Strait of Hormuz.

This article has been translated from the original in French.