US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken by phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, diplomats told Reuters.
This came as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran yesterday and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight.
US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the US might join the war on Israel’s side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks.
According to the diplomats, Araqchi said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the attacks, which began on June 13.
They said the talks included a brief discussion of a US proposal given to Iran at the end of May that aims to create a regional consortium that would enrich uranium outside of Iran, an offer Tehran has so far rejected.
This week’s phone discussions were the most substantive direct talks since the two began negotiations in April. On those occasions, in Oman and Italy, the two men exchanged brief words when they encountered each other after indirect talks were held.
A regional diplomat close to Tehran said Araqchi had told Witkoff that Tehran “could show flexibility in the nuclear issue” if Washington 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.”
Other than brief encounters after five rounds of indirect talks since April to discuss Iran’s decades-old nuclear dispute, Araqchi and Witkoff had not previously held direct contacts.
A second regional diplomat said “the (first) call was initiated by Washington, which also proposed a new offer” to overcome the deadlock over clashing red lines.
Trump wants Tehran to end uranium enrichment on its soil, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Tehran’s right to enrichment is non-negotiable.
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