Esmail Baghai, a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that no talks are currently taking place between Iran and the United States. At his weekly press briefing on 3 August, Baghai said that bilateral talks between Iran and Oman are currently ongoing.
The spokesperson’s comments came after US President Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran would resume on 3 August.
In response to Trump’s remarks, Baghai said that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi would travel to the city of Najaf to take part in the Shia Muslim pilgrimage, “whilst the rest of the negotiating team remains in Iran”.
A senior Iranian source also told Reuters that no talks were planned and that Arakchi would be unavailable until at least the end of the week.
Hassan Kashkavi, a spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, stated that, for the time being, “no talks” were taking place with the United States.
In an interview published by the Iranian state news agency ISNA, Kashkavi stated that the Iranian government is not holding talks with Washington, particularly on the nuclear issue. Kashkavi added that the Islamic Republic’s current priority is “the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions by the US Congress and the return of Iran’s frozen assets”.
Late last week, US President Donald Trump stated that he had called off a “massive” attack on Iran, as agreements on resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and breaking the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme are being drawn up, although he did not provide any details.
The war, which began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran in late February, led to a sharp rise in oil prices – rising as the attacks intensified and falling as hopes for a negotiated settlement re-emerged.