DUBAI, Jan 28 - Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media on Wednesday that he had not been in touch with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days and that Tehran had not sought negotiations with Washington.
Araqchi said intermediaries were engaged in consultations and remained in contact with Iranian officials, but reiterated Tehran’s conditions for any talks. He was quoted as saying that negotiations are incompatible with threats and that dialogue can occur only when menaces and excessive demands are no longer present.
"There was no contact between me and Witkoff in recent days and no request for negotiations was made from us," Araqchi said, adding that various intermediaries were "holding consultations" and were in contact with Tehran.
"Our stance is clear, negotiations don’t go along with threats and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands."
The comments followed remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday said another "armada" was floating toward Iran and expressed hope that Tehran would reach a deal with Washington. Separately, U.S. authorities have deployed additional military assets in the Gulf, a move that followed nationwide protests in Iran.
The domestic unrest in Iran prompted what has been described as the country’s bloodiest crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and U.S. military deployments came amid heightened tensions linked to those events, according to reporting.
In a related diplomatic exchange, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday that Tehran welcomes any process that prevents war, provided it operates within the framework of international law.
The sequence of statements from Iranian officials and U.S. leaders underscores the current state of cautious public positioning: Tehran denies initiating formal talks while acknowledging intermediaries’ consultations, and Washington signals pressure through both rhetoric and the movement of military assets.
There is limited public detail in the statements about the specific nature or participants of the intermediated consultations, and Iranian officials emphasized preconditions for any direct negotiations with the United States.