According to reports in Iran’s government media, Araqchi addressed the issue directly and denied claims of recent meetings or talks. “In the last few days we have had no contact with Witkoff,” the foreign minister stated. In addition to denying the contacts, Arakchi wanted to emphasize that the initiative for the talks does not come from his country: “Also, we did not ask for negotiations.”
However, the senior Iranian diplomat confirmed that indirect diplomatic activity is taking place and that communication channels are not completely blocked. He noted that third parties are working on the issue: “Of course, countries acting as mediators are currently investing efforts and holding discussions, and we are in contact with them.” Araqchi did not specify the names of the countries, but in the past Oman, Qatar and Switzerland were used as conduits for the transmission of messages between Iran and the United States on security and nuclear issues.