TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci has firmly rejected rumors circulating on media and social platforms about alternative negotiators representing Iran in indirect potential talks with the United States.
In an interview with Iranian news outlets on Monday, Araguchi addressed swirling rumors that alternative negotiators, tasked with speaking on the back channel, including former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, have been appointed.
“None of the circulating speculations are accurate,” he stressed, “the potential negotiations would clearly fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its leadership.”
The statement follows weeks after Ran’s unverified claims in the media space, suggesting that people outside the Foreign Office, including Zarif, were engaged in discussions with US officials.
Zarif, who previously led nuclear negotiations with global power, dismissed these claims as unfounded.
“These rumors resemble the jokes of April Fool’s Day that start early and endure unnecessarily,” he said in another interview Monday.
This speculation has arisen amid a slight increase in diplomatic engagement between Iran and the United States.
This shift was particularly exemplified by the exchange of letters from Donald Trump from a former US president delivered to Tehran through the United Arab Emirates, followed by an Iranian response routed through Oman, which Aragut handed over during his Muscat visit.
At a weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaille Baghihai said Iran is waiting for a US decision on nuclear talks. He also dismissed a “false” report about the beginning of talks between Tehran and Washington.
In a speech in February, Ayatollah, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, promoted Ali Khamenei, saying, “Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Republic of Iran is the most active foreign ministry in the world.