Iran denies talks with US but confirms a ‘negotiation request’

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that while officials from his country have not negotiated with members of the Trump administration since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began, the U.S. has submitted a “negotiation request.”

“We have had no negotiations with America in these thirty-one days,” Baqaei said during a press briefing. “What has occurred is the submission of a negotiation request, accompanied by a set of proposals from America, which has reached us through certain intermediaries, including Pakistan.”

He added that the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s position is “very clear,” saying that “as America’s military aggression and invasion continue with full intensity, all our efforts and capabilities are devoted to defending Iran’s essence.”

“We have felt the previous experiences with our flesh, skin, and bones, and we do not forget the betrayal that was inflicted upon diplomacy in two instances within less than a year,” he concluded, referring to U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last June.

Also at Monday’s briefing, Baqaei said Iran “knows full well how to subdue its enemies with its own will.”

As the conflict in the Middle East hits the 31-day mark Monday, President Trump again touted talks between his administration and Tehran. 

The president wrote Monday on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. “is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.”

“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched,’” he added. 

Kharg Island, with an estimated 20,000 residents, handles close to 90 percent of Iranian crude oil exports. 

As Trump references the “discussions,” the U.S. military is deploying more troops to the Middle East — in addition to the more than 50,000 soldiers already in the region. The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have yet to rule out a ground attack on Iran, a move that would mark yet another escalation in the conflict. 

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