Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said that the US and Iran have exchanged indirect messages through mediators, but that there have been no formal negotiations, adding that Tehran does “not have any faith” that diplomacy with the US would lead to results.
The Iranian diplomat said that messages had been “received” from US envoy Steve Witkoff, but gave no indication that Tehran had replied to his outreach.
“I receive messages from Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations,” he said. “There is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran. All messages are conveyed through the Foreign Ministry or received by it, and there are communications between security agencies.”
Araghchi added that Iran had never had a “good experience” negotiating with the US, citing the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal three years after it was signed. Iran was also bombed twice over the past year while engaged in negotiations with the US.
“We do not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero. We don’t see honesty,” Araghchi said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said on Tuesday that the US was not serious about negotiations. He told the European Council President Antonio Costa that the fact that Iran was attacked during talks “proves that this country has no belief in diplomacy and is merely seeking to dictate its own ambitions.”
Pezeshkian said that Iran was willing to end the war only if it received guarantees that it wouldn’t be attacked again. “We have never sought tension or war at any stage, and we have the necessary resolve to end this war if the required conditions are met, especially the necessary guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression,” he said.
President Trump has continued to insist that talks with Iran are taking place and is threatening to destroy Iran’s power plants and potentially its desalination plants if a deal isn’t reached. He has signaled that he may be willing to end the war even without the Strait of Hormuz being opened, but is also building up forces for potential ground operations.
