Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has said that Tehran had not sent any letter to the United States during his recent visits to the Gulf states of Oman and Qatar.
Larijiani made the statement in an interview with Iran's state-run IRIB TV late Wednesday at the end of his two-day trip to Muscat, Oman and Doha, Qatar while elaborating on the visits' outcomes and the renewed indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, the first round of which was held in Oman on Feb 6.
Larijani said that Omani intermediaries conveyed "a few points" from the U.S. side, which were provided in writing for review in Tehran. He said that Iran "had no letter for the American side", adding that the date for the next round of indirect talks has not been set, though both sides have expressed willingness to continue.
Earlier on Wednesday, Larijani told Qatar's Al Jazeera in an interview during his visit to Doha that Tehran had yet to receive any clear proposal from the United States despite the indirect negotiations.
He described the first round of the renewed nuclear talks as merely an exchange of messages, and stressed that negotiations are still underway. He reaffirmed that the talks are focused exclusively on Iran's nuclear program, not on other issues, ruling out the possibility of zero uranium enrichment on Iran's soil, citing domestic needs for energy and pharmaceuticals.
His remarks came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington and a U.S. military buildup in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that it will be very "traumatic" for Iran if the country fails to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. Trump said he thinks a deal could be struck over the next month.
In an interview with Financial Times published on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that "Washington had signaled a willingness to be flexible on a key demand that Iran end all uranium enrichment. That condition has long been a critical barrier to a deal, as Iran insists it has a right to enrich as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty."
Fidan also said he believes Tehran "genuinely wants to reach a real agreement" and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspections regime, "like it did in the 2015 agreement with the U.S. and other world powers."
He cautioned that if the U.S. expands the nuclear negotiations to cover Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, "the result could be another war in the region".
Also on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had "expressed general scepticism about the nature of any deal with Iran", and that if a deal between the United States and Iran is indeed reached, it must include "the ballistic missiles and the Iranian proxies," demands Tehran has previously rejected.
Israeli media outlets reported on Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces have completed a new round of offensive operation plans for all combat zones, with the focus further shifting towards Iran. The reports said that Israel's military has prepared offensive plans for "all scenarios" of Iranian attacks.
Iran's top security official says no letter sent to U.S.
