Witkoff lying about nuclear talks content says Iranian negotiator
Witkoff lying about nuclear talks' content, says Iranian negotiator
TEHRAN - During his weekly press conference at a Tehran school damaged by American and Israeli bombs, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff is lying about the substance of recent nuclear talks, adding that this deception is intended to justify Washington bombing the negotiating table for a second time in less than eight months.
Baghaei, who accompanied Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to the talks, stated that there were never any American demands regarding the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program, the limitation of its missile program, its Navy, or its regional alliances—contrary to recent remarks made by Witkoff to Fox News.
"What is being said about the negotiation process—claiming something was presented to us at the final stage which we then rejected—is a complete distortion of reality," Baghaei stated. "We must not allow lies to be injected into the heart of history while this unequal and bloody war is ongoing. It is our duty to prevent false narratives from becoming dominant.”
Iran and the U.S. commenced a fresh set of discussions in February aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement on the fate of Iran's nuclear program. After the third round was held on Thursday, Araghchi reported the talks had been the "most serious," and the mediator, Omani FM Badr Al-Busaidi, indicated the two sides had moved closer to an agreement. American officials also expressed a preference for diplomacy with Iran. As the two sides prepared for a fourth round of talks in Vienna this week, the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Tehran Saturday morning, assassinating Iran's Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with some of his family members. The two regimes have since continued attacking Iran, including killing 170 schoolgirls in the bombing of an elementary school in southern Iran, hitting hospitals and medical facilities, and destroying residential buildings.
This war marks the second time the U.S. has attacked Iran in the midst of a diplomatic process. It previously attacked Iran during a separate set of negotiations in June 2025, again after setting a date and location for the next round of talks. The Washington Post suggested the 2025 negotiations were used as a smokescreen to attack Iran, and Hebrew media has claimed the 2026 negotiations served the same purpose.
Furthermore, speaking to Fox News, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance claimed the Trump administration imposed another war against Iran because the country was only "a week away" from building nuclear weapons. Trump himself claimed to have "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facility during the June war.
"Ayatollah Khamenei never changed his view on the development of nuclear weapons. He maintained that posture until the last second of his life," Baghaei stated.
Ayatollah Khamenei, who was also a Shia religious authority, had banned the development of nuclear weapons through a fatwa (religious decree) over three decades ago. Despite having the most rigorous inspection regime in Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) never found any evidence that Iran had ever moved toward developing nukes. Meanwhile, Israel has possessed nuclear weapons for years, with its officials threatening to use them against Palestinians in Gaza multiple times over the past two years, yet there are no international inspections over the Israeli nuclear program.
"The U.S. President claims Iran posed an imminent danger. What danger? What threat?" Baghaei asked. "The Pentagon's report states Iran posed no threat to the United States. Has Iran mobilized troops to the shores of America? Have we sent missiles toward the White House? Or was it you who turned the slogan 'America First' into 'Destroy Iran First,' merely to please Israel?"
Some analysts believe Trump was dragged into a war with Iran because Israel had been threatening the president with footage of him on the infamous Epstein island, where underage girls were systematically raped and killed. Jeffrey Epstein, the owner of the island, is believed to have been a Mossad agent.
source: tehrantimes.com