Witkoff, Tehran maintain direct talks amid Israel-Iran war

Direct talks between the U.S. and Iran have not broken off since Israel launched its preemptive strike on the Islamic Republic last week, Reuters reported on Thursday.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken several times by phone, in an attempt to de-escalate the aerial war, Reuters cited three diplomats as saying.

The Iranian diplomat maintained that Tehran will not return to the negotiating table with regard to its nuclear program unless Jerusalem halts its attacks.

Araqchi, according to one of the unnamed diplomats, told Witkoff that Tehran “could show flexibility in the nuclear issue” if the Trump administration pressured Israel to end the war.

A European diplomat said, “Araqchi told Witkoff Iran was ready to come back to nuclear talks, but it could not if Israel continued its bombing,” according to Reuters.

A second regional diplomat was quoted as saying that Washington was the one to initiate a call after Israel launched its surprise attack on June 13, adding that the U.S. offered a new proposal, without disclosing its details.

Meanwhile on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make a decision on whether to strike Iran or not “within the next two weeks.”

A White House official was cited by CNN as saying on Thursday that the president supports diplomatic efforts by European envoys to persuade Iran to accept Washington’s nuclear dismantlement proposal.

Foreign ministers from Britain, Germany and France were slated to hold talks with Iranian representatives in Geneva on Friday, CNN reported.

The Europeans were informed of the details of Washington’s proposal offered to Tehran, the report added.

In an interview with Iranian state TV on Friday, however, Araqchi said that “Iran will not enter into talks with any party as long as Israel’s attacks continue.”

The “United States is complicit in Israeli aggression, even if it does not directly participate,” he added.

According to Reuters, the Iranian minister further denied targeting an Israeli hospital in Beersheva, after the Soroka Medical Center sustained a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile on Thursday.

“Iran never targets civilian areas, especially not hospitals, as opposed to Israel, which has intentionally targeted hospitals in Gaza,” Araqchi was cited as saying.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tweeted in response that “Iran is misleading the world and simply trying to waste time. It has no intention of giving up its nuclear program, which poses an existential threat to Israel and endangers the entire world.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Friday: “We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution.”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday that Trump believes there is a “substantial chance” of fruitful negotiations in the near future.

Speaking to the press, she reiterated the administration’s stance that Iran must not construct nuclear weapons, adding that Trump supporters can trust the president amid concerns over U.S. involvement in the war.

Trump told reporters on the same day that the Islamic Republic has “never been closer” to building a nuclear weapon.

© JNS