Talks between the United States and Iran are continuing, an unnamed US administration official told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
According to the official, dialogue between Washington and Tehran is continuing and “is nearing its goal”, without going into further detail.
The official also noted that the White House does not believe that the recent air strikes between Israel and the Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’, which the United States considers a terrorist organisation, will derail the negotiations.
Earlier today, Trump called on “all parties” to de-escalate, stating that the United States and Iran are “very close” to an agreement.
At the same time, according to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the country’s Supreme National Security Council has determined that “the path of dialogue should be continued”, signalling continued support for the talks from Tehran’s highest governing body.
Former US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Kyle Brown, who served during Trump’s first term, said that the growing momentum in the talks between the US and Iran reflects Washington’s successful use of pressure to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
“By establishing escalation dominance, the president has forced Tehran to reconsider its position,” Brown, who now heads Polaris National Security, noted in an interview with Radio Free Europe on 14 June.
It had previously emerged that negotiators from Qatar had flown to Tehran early on the morning of 14 June to finalise an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the months-long conflict. At the same time, there was a risk that the resumption of Israeli attacks on Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon could delay the signing of the document.
Tel Aviv had previously stated that it had attacked southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired three rockets at communities in northern Israel.