U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate for a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, contradicting the Iranian foreign minister who said Tehran was reviewing a U.S. proposal but had no intention of holding talks to wind down the war, Reuters reported.
The conflicting statements came as the economic and humanitarian toll of the war mounted, with fuel shortages spreading worldwide, sending companies and countries scrambling to contain the fallout.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said while there had been no dialogue or negotiation with the U.S., various messages had been exchanged through intermediaries.
"Messages being conveyed through our friendly countries and us responding by stating our positions or issuing the necessary warnings is not called negotiation or dialogue," Araqchi said in a state television interview on Wednesday.
Trump, speaking later on Wednesday at an event in Washington, said Iranian leaders "are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they will be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us".
MAXIMALIST POSITIONS
Even if they happen, any negotiations would likely prove very difficult, given the maximalist positions laid out by both sides.
A 15-point U.S. proposal to end the conflict, sent to Iran via Pakistan, includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports.
But Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait, Iranian sources say. It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said.
Trump has not identified who the U.S. is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran has since launched strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states.
WAVES OF MISSILES
On Thursday, Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people.
In Iran, strikes hit a residential zone in the southern city of Bandar Abbas and a village on the outskirts of the southern city of Shiraz, where two teenage brothers were killed, Iran's Tasnim news agency said. A university building in Isfahan was reported to have been hit.
Israel's military said it had completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Iran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the conflict by an Israeli strike and was replaced by his son Mojtaba, who has been wounded in strikes and not been seen in any photograph or video clip since his appointment.
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