Iran Denies Back-Channel US Talks as Trump Insists Negotiations Are Ongoing

Iran officially rejected allegations on Monday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps engaged in clandestine back-channel negotiations with the United States through Kurdish intermediaries located in Iraq. The flat denial maintains Tehran’s rigid diplomatic posture against entering into bilateral talks without prior concessions while the ongoing war persists.

Tehran Rebuffs Back-Channel Claims

The Islamic Republic’s official stance dismissed reports of secret communications facilitated by Kurdish actors in neighboring Iraq. According to the main reporting, the administration in Tehran has refused to soften its uncompromising line on negotiations, insisting that no concessions have been offered and no back-door dialogues are currently active.

This strict rejection stands in sharp contrast to assertions made concurrently by Washington regarding the state of diplomatic contact between the two adversaries.

Diverging Claims from Washington

While Iranian officials deny any form of dialogue, U.S. leadership insists that substantive discussions are actively underway. According to reporting from TIME, Donald Trump addressed the diplomatic disconnect during a Truth Social post and a later executive order signing ceremony on Monday.

“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman,’” Trump wrote on social media, adding that the two nations are addressing a decades-old problem with the ultimate goal that “IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”

During the subsequent remarks to reporters, Trump reiterated his insistence that negotiations are “going on right now.” He pointed to the communications discrepancy by stating, “For some reason, when they’re talking, they don’t like saying that they’re talking.”

The Scope of Alleged Negotiations

According to the statements provided by the U.S. administration, the ongoing diplomatic exchanges are partitioned into distinct phases. The primary focus of the current talks centers on securing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Following that immediate security objective, Trump stated that “phase two” of the discussions would address Iran’s broader nuclear capacity.

Photo: time.com

Despite the American assertions that talks are progressing toward scheduled future sessions, Tehran’s official repudiation leaves the two governments publicly at odds over whether any communication channel is actually open.