United States President, Donald Trump, has said there had been talks between the US and Iran over the past day in which the two sides had “major points of agreement” and said both wanted “to make a deal”.
But in a swift riposte, Iran’s foreign ministry denied talks with the US.
Trump said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner talked to Iran on Sunday and that discussions would continue on Monday.
Trump said the US was talking to a “top person” within the Iranian regime to try to end the war, but this person was not the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump claimed the US and Iran were discussing 15 points to end the war, with Tehran giving up nuclear weapons as points “number one, two and three”.
Trump earlier claimed that the US and Iran had held talks on the “complete and total resolution of hostilities” in the Middle East and that he would postpone American attacks on Iranian power plants by five days after having “productive conversations” with Tehran.
However, the Fars news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied any such talks took place, saying there were neither direct nor indirect communications with the US.
■ Iran’s foreign ministry denies talks with US
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has denied holding any talks with the US during the past 24 days, sharply undermining Donald Trump who claimed that the US and Iran have held “very good and productive conversations” on an end to the war.
In recent days, friendly countries sent messages indicating that the US had requested talks to end the war, but Iran had not responded, state news agency IRNA quoted the ministry spokesperson as having said.
Iran’s foreign ministry reportedly said that Trump’s statements were “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans”, with state media saying they showed the US president was “backing down”.
Late on Saturday evening, Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants after 48 hours unless Iran agreed to fully reopen the strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping route which Iran has effectively closed. The deadline was set to expire just before midnight UK time on Monday.
In turn, Iran said it would “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the Middle East, including vital water systems, if the US followed through on Trump’s threat.
Iran’s defence council earlier today threatened to lay sea mines to block the entire Gulf if Iran’s coasts or islands were attacked.
[The Guardian]
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