Iran Denies U.S. Talks After Trump Calls Off Planned Attacks

LBCI Lebanon

U.S. & Iranian flags.

Iran said on Monday that no talks were under way with the United States and that no meetings were planned, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that discussions were scheduled for later that day, which he cited as the reason for calling off planned military attacks.

"Would I rather make a deal? I'm not looking to kill people," Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

"Now what we're doing is talking to them, in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon," he said, without identifying a venue or participants for such talks.

Iran's Foreign ⁠Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected the claim, saying no negotiations with the United States were taking place and no meetings were scheduled. Iran had no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the coming days, he said.

Baghaei added that all Iranian negotiators were currently in the country, apart from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was on a religious pilgrimage in Iraq. The only talks under way, he said, were discussions with Oman over management of the Strait of Hormuz.

A senior Iranian source also told Reuters that no talks were planned and that Araghchi would be unavailable at least until the end of the week.



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