Iran Says US-Iran Messages Continue Through Pakistan Despite Public Rejection

ISLAMABAD: Tehran and Washington have been exchanging messages through Islamabad’s mediation channel during the past few weeks, despite President Trump public rejection of Iranian peace proposals.

The spokesman of Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the United States has continued exchanging views on a proposed framework through Pakistani mediation, despite publicly rejecting Iran’s 14-point proposal.

Speaking at his weekly press conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Washington had conveyed “a set of revised points and considerations” via Pakistan last week after Iran submitted its proposal and the US raised its own concerns.

“After we presented the 14-point plan, the American side raised its considerations. In return, we also presented our considerations,” Baqaei said.
“Last week, despite the American side publicly announcing that this plan was rejected, we received through the Pakistani mediator a set of revised points and considerations reflecting their views,” he added.

The spokesperson said Iran had reviewed the latest proposals in recent days and had already delivered its response to Washington through the same channel.

“From the day after the American viewpoints were sent through Pakistan, we were faced with a series of proposals from the other side, which were reviewed over the past few days, and as announced yesterday, our viewpoints were in turn presented to the American side,” he said. “Therefore, the process is continuing through Pakistan.”

Baqaei dismissed media speculations about the contents of the US proposal, particularly reports concerning Iran’s uranium enrichment activities and stockpiles of enriched material, saying such claims were “not close to reality.”

“Over the past two years, they have repeatedly raised more or less the same issues regarding enrichment and Iran’s enriched materials,” he said. “We have always said that these claims have no basis in reality.”

He stressed that Iran’s right to enrich uranium was non-negotiable and rooted in international law.

“The issue of rights is not something about which we are willing to negotiate or compromise,” he said. “Iran’s right to enrichment is recognized on the basis of the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]. There is no need for anyone or any other party to recognize it for Iran; this right already exists.”