Iran rules out possibility of Trump-Pezeshkian meeting in Riyadh

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday dismissed reports suggesting that President Masoud Pezeshkian may meet with Donald Trump in Riyadh or that Tehran has proposed direct negotiations with Washington, calling them “baseless fabrications.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that any updates on the status of what he called indirect talks with the United States would be shared in a “transparent, professional and timely” manner by the ministry.

The denial comes after a report by the Israeli news outlet Ynet, which said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had contacted Steve Witkoff, the US representative in the negotiations, and proposed direct talks over nuclear issues.

Meanwhile, Kioumars Yazdanpanah, a political analyst frequently featured on Iranian state TV, raised the possibility that negotiating teams from Iran and the United States may have reached a “preliminary tacit agreement.” He also suggested there was a chance that Trump and Pezeshkian could meet in Riyadh.