Iran rejects report of proposing direct talks with US

Tehran, May 8
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has dismissed a recent media report and the speculations about a proposal by Tehran on direct nuclear talks with Washington and an imminent meeting between the Iranian and US Presidents.



He made the remarks on Wednesday to Iran's Press TV while reacting to a recent report by the Israeli news website Ynet, which claimed that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had approached US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, requesting direct nuclear negotiations with the US delegation due to "frustration" with Omani mediation efforts to bridge the gap between the two sides.

Baghaei also rejected media speculations that US President Donald Trump, during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia next week, may meet with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, Xinhua news agency reported.

The spokesman described the media report and rumors as "fabricated and baseless," saying that "all updates on Iran's diplomatic activities, including indirect talks with the US, are communicated transparently, professionally, and in a timely manner by the (Iranian) Foreign Ministry".

The delegations of Iran and the US, headed by Araghchi and Witkoff, have so far held three rounds of indirect talks.

The first and third rounds were held in the Omani capital Muscat on April 12 and April 26, and the second one in Rome on April 19.

The fourth round, which was originally scheduled for May 3 in Rome, was postponed due to what the mediator Oman described as "logistical reasons".

Nour News, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reported on Tuesday that the fourth round of indirect talks between Iran and the US would be held in Muscat on Sunday.

However, Baghaei said earlier on Wednesday that the definite date and venue of the fourth round of Iran-US dialogue have not been determined yet.

Both the US and Iran have so far described their talks as generally productive, including the last round, which was billed as a "constructive" process.

The announcement came shortly after the US imposed new sanctions on entities accused of participating in the alleged illicit trade of Iranian oil and petrochemicals.

int/khz