Iraqji Contacts Witkoff to De-escalate

SadaNews - Amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the potential use of force against Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Iraqji reached out to White House envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend, according to two informed sources.

The sources indicated that this communication appeared to be an attempt by Iran to de-escalate tensions with the United States, or at least to buy more time before Trump orders any additional action to weaken the regime," Axios reported on Monday.

Upcoming Meeting

According to an informed source, Iraqji and Witkoff discussed the possibility of holding a meeting in the coming days.

However, the sources did not clarify whether the two men spoke via phone or text messages.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei clarified during a press conference earlier today that "the communication channel between Iraqji and the U.S. envoy is open, and messages are exchanged as necessary." Iraqji also confirmed that his country is prepared for war as well as dialogue.

This comes after Trump revealed late Sunday that Iran had reached out to the United States and proposed negotiating a nuclear deal. He added while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One: "We may meet with them... a meeting is being arranged, but we might have to act due to what is happening before the meeting..".

For his part, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance announced last week that Washington is open to negotiating a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Exchanging Text Messages

It is noted that Witkoff and Iraqji had exchanged text messages during last year’s nuclear talks between their countries, as confirmed at the time by U.S. officials. Communication continued even after the United States bombed Iran's nuclear facilities last June.

Moreover, an American official and two informed sources stated that the two men remained in contact regarding potential negotiations until last October.

It is expected that Trump will hold a meeting with the national security team tomorrow, Tuesday, to discuss options for supporting protests in Iran.