Iran rejects Trump’s talks claim, warns US against any breach of agreement

WEB DESK: Iran has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran had requested the continuation of talks with Washington, saying it had not asked the United States for negotiations and would respond firmly to any violation of an agreement by the American side.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had not made any request for talks with the United States, but had accepted a visit by Qatari mediators to Iran.

“We did not request negotiations with the United States,” Baghaei said, according to Iranian state media. He added that any breach of an agreement by Washington would be met with an appropriate response “in the same language”.

Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of violating the memorandum of understanding reached between the two sides, saying Tehran has so far honoured its commitments while Washington has failed to do the same.

The statement came a day after President Trump claimed that Iran had asked to continue negotiations with the United States and that Washington had agreed to the request.

Trump had said the US had made it clear that the ceasefire had ended, but added that diplomatic contacts were still necessary to reduce tensions and support regional stability. He also expressed hope that talks could help narrow differences between the two countries.

US media, meanwhile, reported that a new round of talks between Washington and Tehran could take place next week, possibly in Switzerland. The report came as the US Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on Iranian financial networks.

Trump issues fresh warning to Iran

In a separate message on social media, Trump adopted a harder tone, saying that 1,000 missiles were ready to be fired towards Iran if required. The US president said American forces had already been instructed to destroy Iranian areas if the situation demanded such action.

Trump also warned Iran of serious consequences if it acted on any alleged threat to assassinate or attempt to assassinate him. He said any such move would be met with thousands of additional missiles.

His remarks followed a recent Wall Street Journal report claiming that Israel had informed Trump of intelligence suggesting Iran was allegedly planning to assassinate him.

Iran has not accepted the US president’s version of events regarding the talks, insisting that it had only agreed to receive mediators.