*’It’s US, Not Iran, That Seeks Talks’
*How Real Were The Said Talks?
*Israel Claims Hits On IRGC Hqtrs
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said today that “no negotiations” were held with the United States (US) after President Donald Trump announced talks were ongoing.
“No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
It came as Trump announced “very good” talks today with an unidentified Iranian official after abruptly shelving plans to attack the Islamic Republic’s power plants.
Recall that he had given Tehran till today to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face a bombardment of the Persian Gulf nation’s vital energy infrastructure –its livewire.
The Axios news site, citing an unnamed Israeli official, named Trump’s interlocutor as Ghalibaf.
‘It’s US, Not Iran , That Seeks Talks’
In a twist, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei indicated that messages had been received from “some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,” according to the official IRNA news agency.
Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he had spoken with Trump, who saw a chance of an agreement with Iran, but added that Israel would continue its strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
Trump believed there was a possibility of “leveraging the mighty achievements obtained by the IDF and the US military, in order to realize the goals of the war in a deal – a deal that will preserve our vital interests,” the Israeli PM claimed in a video statement released by his office.
Israel Claims Hits On IRGC Hqtrs
Israel said it had launched “wide-scale” strikes on Iran on Monday morning, while Tehran continued to fire missiles at the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) also claimed to have struck the main security headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as part of a “wave of strikes that was completed a short while ago in the heart of Tehran.”
How Real Were The Said US-Iran Talks?
The backchannel talks between Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, were not a secret in the sense that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry had tweeted that conversations were under way on Sunday, 24 hours before Trump’s late Monday deadline to start blowing up Iran’s energy infrastructure.
But such is the chaos surrounding the process that the discussions – thought to be well short of negotiations – may have lasted longer than Sunday, with more than one mediator, as is often the case, jostling for the title of peacemaker-in-chief.
Pakistan’s Army chief, Asim Munir, for instance, spoke with Trump on Sunday, while Pakistani Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, held talks with Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, today.
It is possible Pakistan could become the venue for further talks that this time would include US Vice President (VP) JD Vance. Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, was right to warn not to bank on an early end to the conflict.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Trump addressing newsmen.
