Iran has rejected US negotiation claims, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker, who was named in the report, accusing President Donald Trump of spreading “fake news” to manipulate financial markets.
It comes after Trump hailed “very good” talks to end the war as US outlet Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified the alleged interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament and one of Tehran’s most prominent non-clerical figures.
The outlet reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance, who has spoken relatively little on the war, possibly joining.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying “speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House”.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad’s help to bring peace to the region.
But Ghalibaf said on X that “no negotiations” were underway, insisting Trump was seeking “to manipulate the financial and oil markets”.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from “some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war”, but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran’s official IRNA agency reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged Washington thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.
