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Backchannel claim denied
US President Donald Trump told Fox News that Washington was speaking with “different parts” of the Iranian government as indirect contacts continued through regional mediators, particularly Qatar, Pakistan and Oman.
““There are no talks,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohabi told Iran’s Tasnim news agency.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps quickly rejected the claim, with IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohabi telling Iran’s Tasnim news agency, “There are no talks,” and calling it “This lie by Trump is nothing more than a fantasy.”
The dispute unfolded as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said intermediaries were exchanging messages with Tehran but stressed that this did not amount to negotiations, adding, “The mediators, Qatar and Pakistan, are exchanging messages and communicating with us, but that does not mean that we are entering negotiations.”
Araghchi also said, “We have still not made a decision on whether to resume negotiations with the United States,” while Mohabi denied senior IRGC officials were holding discussions with Washington.
Kushner’s comments came after he met earlier during his Middle East visit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the report.
Oman threatened over Hormuz
Trump also threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of US talks with Iran, with a BBC report saying the US and Oman were negotiating separately with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Fox reporter Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying, “If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them,” while the BBC said the threat came as Iran said it was close to finalising a deal with Oman.
The BBC reported that the Strait of Hormuz has been largely closed for nearly six months during the US-Iran war and that reopening it has been a key point of discussion.
The BBC added that Oman borders the southern side of the Strait and says it is a neutral country in this conflict, while it has suffered a number of strikes from Iran and is now playing a key role in negotiating with Tehran.
In the same reporting, the BBC said Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, “No,” when asked if he was seeking an extension to the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Escalation if diplomacy fails
As the 60-day MoU expired, Reuters was cited in multiple reports for the idea that diplomacy could fail and that Iran would respond by escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region.
“Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official saying that Tehran would escalate tensions in the region if diplomatic efforts fail.”
In Iran International’s account, Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official saying that Tehran would escalate tensions in the region if diplomatic efforts fail, while Trump asserted on Monday that Washington had a “backchannel” to communicate with the IRGC.
Iran International also reported that Axios said Nechirvan Barzani had been tapped to help establish a secret communication channel between the U.S. administration and IRGC commander Hossein Salami, with Safeen Dizayee saying Barzani worked to “transmit messages and reduce Tensions.”
Meanwhile, the IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohammadi denied the backchannel claims in a separate report, telling Tasnim that “There are no talks between IRGC officials and the Americans,” and describing Trump’s claim as “This lie from Trump is simply a fantasy.”
The same reporting tied the dispute to the maritime blockade and economic pressure, with Trump saying he was “not in a hurry” and that “I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry,” as the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz continued.
