Fars News Denies Phone Contact Between Iran’s Foreign Minister and Trump’s Envoy Amid Israeli Strikes
Iran denies talks with US envoy after Israeli strikes, rejects Reuters report as false. Nuclear negotiations remain stalled amid ongoing conflict.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency on Friday, denied any recent telephone contact between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, Trump administration’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, following a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory.
Citing a well-informed source, the agency asserted that “no phone conversation has taken place between Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff during the past week.” This statement directly contradicts a report published a day earlier by Reuters, which had claimed the two officials held multiple phone conversations following the Israeli attacks and discussed a U.S. proposal presented to Tehran last month.
Fars News reiterated its rejection of the Reuters report, labeling it “groundless and far from the truth.”
On Thursday, Reuters reported, based on information from three unnamed diplomats, that Witkoff and Araghchi had engaged in several telephone conversations in the wake of the Israeli strikes, reportedly discussing a U.S. initiative submitted to Iranian officials in May.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to resume nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran have stalled. The sixth round of nuclear talks, originally scheduled for Sunday, Jun. 15, 2025, was suspended after Iran announced its withdrawal from the discussions in response to the renewed Israeli military operations.
To date, five rounds of negotiations have taken place between U.S. and Iranian delegations, aiming to reach a new nuclear agreement.
