ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Tuesday rejected reports of contacting senior US envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
The denial follows reports by Axios and other outlets reporting that Aragchi had attempted to directly communicate with Steve Witkoff, with messages reportedly focused on ending the ongoing conflict.
“My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran,” the minister said in a post on X.
“Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public,” he added.
The reports suggested a possible backchannel between Washington and Tehran, since US, Israel carried out airstrikes against Iran almost 3 weeks ago.
US President Donald Trump, on multiple occasions, suggested that Iran wanted a deal for a ceasefire.
“They want to make a deal. They are talking to our people… we have people wanting to negotiate, [but] we have no idea who they are,” Trump told reporters earlier.
Iranian officials have maintained publicly that no ceasefire negotiations are underway
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