Yesterday, March 16, Axios, citing its sources, reported that Araghchi had sent text messages to Whitkoff saying that the U.S. and Israel were ending the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Earlier, Drop Site News reported that according to Iranian sources, it was Whitkoff who sent the messages to Araghchi, and Iran’s foreign minister ignored them.
A U.S. official, meanwhile, told Axios that Araghchi was the one who tried to make contact, but he said the U.S. was “not negotiating” with Iran.
It is unclear how substantive the messages exchanged between Araghchi and Whitkoff were, but this is the first known direct communication between Iran and the U.S. since the start of the war, which has been going on for more than two weeks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 16 that Iran had been in contact with the United States, but it was unclear whether the Iranian officials involved were authorized to enter into an agreement. “We have no idea who they are,” Trump told reporters. He added that he was not against negotiations with the Iranians “because sometimes good things come out of them.”
Alas, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi soon said he had no direct contact with US presidential special envoy Steve Whitkoff. “My last contact with Mr. Whitkoff was before his employer decided to destroy diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claims to the contrary appear to be solely intended to mislead oil traders and the public,” Araghchi wrote on social media X.
