Iranian FM denies secret talks with US

Shafaq News – Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday dismissed claims of secret talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff, as the United Nations prepares to reimpose sanctions on Tehran under the 2015 nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism.

Media reports claimed the discussions centered on an Iranian proposal for urgent negotiations on an interim deal leading to a broader agreement with Washington.

Araghchi told Iran’s Tasnim News Agency that while Tehran and Washington sometimes exchange messages through intermediaries, “no such talks had taken place.”

Axios, citing European diplomats, reported that the proposal included a verbal pledge to reduce uranium enrichment from 60 percent but required scrapping the snapback provision in advance, adding that the offer was declined.

Earlier, the UN Security Council voted down a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Iran. Britain, France, and Germany had already triggered the snapback process on August 28, citing Tehran’s uranium stockpile—more than 40 times the limit set in 2015—and an IAEA finding of non-compliance. Unless negotiators reach a deal, all pre-2015 sanctions, including arms and missile embargoes, will automatically return on September 27.