Iran Denies Rumours of Contact With US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that there are any ongoing talks with the US at the moment, refuting reports in Western media about him being in contact with Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy to the “Middle East”.

“My last contact with Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran” Araghchi wrote on X on Monday, adding that “any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public.”

Citing US officials, Axios had reported about direct channels of communication between Araghchi and Witkoff on Monday.

Ever since the start of the current war, Iran has repeatedly claimed it does not seek a ceasefire with the US and Israel until they halt their war and agree to never repeat their aggression in future, and the US removes all of its military bases in the region and pay reparations for the losses.

Represented by Witkoff and Araghchi, the US and Iran had completed three rounds of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and, as per the Omani mediators, were about to reach a deal, when the US suddenly decided to join Israel and bomb Tehran on February 28, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other top officials. 

Over 1,400 Iranians have been killed in US-Israeli bombings in the last three weeks. Iran has retaliated to the attacks targeting several US military bases in the region and Israeli territories and closing off trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

No point talking to the Americans

On Monday, Drop Site News reported that Witkoff has indeed messaged Araghchi and some other Iranian officials “exploring possibilities for negotiations”. However, Iran has yet to respond.

Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Araghchi reiterated that Iran has not asked for a ceasefire or even negotiations with the US because it is not a trustworthy party given it attacked Iran twice in a year in the middle of ongoing talks.

“We are ready to defend ourselves for as long as it takes.” We will continue to do so “until president Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory,” Araghchi said during the interview.

Repeated comments and rumors of talks or an expedited end to the war, sometimes pushed by Trump himself and high officials in his administration, it is speculated, has been a part of the White House’s efforts to appease the public, which has overwhelmingly rejected the rationale for the war. Opposition in the US appears to be growing as the conflict continues for its third week.

Iran, as Araghchi claimed, also believes that the repeated rumors of negotiations are also an attempt to keep global energy markets from completely destabilizing.

The global energy prices have more than doubled in the last weeks, following Iran’s decision to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which over 20% of global energy supplies used to transit.

Several countries in the Persian Gulf region, such as Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil, UAE and Qatar, one of the largest gas producers in the world, among others, have seen production disruptions since the beginning of the war. 

According to Reuters, the UAE has seen its oil production halved since the beginning of the war. Saudi Arabia has cut its daily output of oil by 20% while Qatar has shut down some of its gas production as well.

The US has threatened Iran with further destruction and called for a global coalition in order to force it to open the Strait of Hormuz.

However, most US allies, including some NATO members, have refused to join any such effort.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch