Iran's foreign ministry spokesman denied today that Tehran had any talks with the US in the past 24 days, shortly after President Donald Trump said the two sides had found «significant points of agreement» in negotiations in recent days that could lead to an end to the war.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said it had received messages from the US, through «friendly countries», calling for talks, but maintained that no negotiations had taken place since the war began.
«In recent days, we have received messages from some friendly countries conveying a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,» ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
He also stated that he «denied any negotiations or discussions with the US during the last 24 days of this war imposed on us».
Earlier, Iranian sources had again disputed Trump's statements that he had spoken of «productive» talks with Tehran, denying that there were any direct or indirect talks with the US.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the US has requested a meeting with Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bayr Galibaf, but Tehran has yet to respond to this request. The official stressed that Iran's Supreme National Security Council has so far not considered the request.
Galibaf himself, in a post on X, stated that no talks with the US are taking place, referring to “fake news” used to manipulate the oil markets. The Iranian people demand total and humiliating punishment of the attackers, he said.
«All officials strongly support their leader and their people until this goal is achieved,» the speaker of the Iranian parliament said, apparently referring to Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
«No negotiations have taken place with America. The fake news is aimed at manipulating the financial and oil markets and escaping the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped,» he said.
According to the Financial Times, Pakistan presented the country as the main mediator trying to negotiate an end to the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, had a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump yesterday, according to a newspaper report, citing two people with knowledge of the phone call.
Senior Pakistani officials have behind-the-scenes contacts between Tehran and White House envoys Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner.
The Axios reporter pointed out that Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have been passing messages between Washington and Tehran over the past two days in an attempt to de-escalate.
Senior officials from Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan had separate talks with Whitcoff and Kushner and with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Axios.
