Iran: IRGC rejects Trump’s claim of backchannel talks

Tehran, Aug 17 (IANS) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that there is a backchannel for talks between Washington and the IRGC.

In an interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency, IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi called Trump’s claim a “delusion,” saying no dialogue is going on between the IRGC officials and the Americans.

Mohebbi added that Iran’s diplomatic apparatus is not currently negotiating with the United States because of Washington’s “breach of promises,” Xinhua News Agency reported.

Separately, at Monday’s press conference, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denied media reports of unofficial contact between Washington and the IRGC via Iraqi Kurdistan officials and an alleged secret U.S.-Iran meeting in Erbil.

The news is “media techniques and psychological operations used to sow discord among Iran’s decision-making bodies,” Baghaei said.

Fox News reported earlier that Trump confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks between Washington and the IRGC.

Trump also has urged Iran to raise the “white flag of surrender” as a 60-day ceasefire understanding expires, while signalling that he is in no hurry to set a deadline for Tehran.

Trump told Fox News in an interview that American naval pressure on Iran would continue. The US President also issued a stark warning to Oman over its parallel talks with Tehran concerning control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry,” Trump was quoted as saying in a telephone interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

The US President said Iran should raise the “white flag of surrender”. He described Iranian officials as good poker players but said the country was “dying”, according to Yingst.

Trump was particularly blunt when asked about talks between Iran and Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the S out of them,” Trump said, according to Yingst.

–IANS

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