Operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence reportedly reached out through a third country’s spy agency, just a day after attacks began on February 28, the report said citing officials from the West Asian countries and a Western country.
The reported outreach comes against the backdrop of an intensifying US-Israeli military campaign that, according to officials, now controls much of Iranian airspace and has launched waves of strikes across major Iranian cities. Washington has also been forced into a diplomatic retrenchment, closing embassies and ordering evacuations of US citizens amid expanded hostilities.
Notably, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said that Iran was “always open” to negotiating which was promptly followed by the country’s security chief Ali Larijani reiterating that talks were off the table.
“Iran is always open to diplomacy…This is the second time that we negotiated with Americans and they decided to attack us right in the middle of negotiation,” Araghchi had said.
Senior Iranian security figures have flatly denied renewed talks with Washington, saying Iran will not negotiate under military pressure, even as global powers including Russia and China call for a halt to the US-Israeli offensive.
The US in a coordinated effort with Israel has been attacking Iran in a coordinated to reduce Iran’s military capacity and has killed several key leaders including the 86-year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s death toll has reached 1,045, according to Tasnim news agency.
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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
