Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied reports of message exchanges from Washington to Tehran through Oman and the beginning of a negotiation process, taking a position completely different from that of the spokesperson for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government.
On Monday, November 3, Baghaei stated in a press conference that some remarks on the matter were inaccurate and that during the visit of Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the regime’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, to Muscat, no official message from Washington was delivered to Tehran.
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He added, “It is common and usual for various intermediaries to continue efforts to bring views closer and exchange messages, but this by no means signifies the beginning of a negotiation process.”
This comes while Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, confirmed on November 2 that messages had been received from the U.S. side—without naming any country—and said she would explain the details “at an appropriate time.”
On October 31, the Baghdad Al-Youm news outlet quoted diplomatic sources in Tehran as saying that U.S. President Donald Trump had expressed, in a message to Oman, his intention to reach a new agreement with Iran’s regime and emphasized his willingness to resume nuclear negotiations.
Earlier this year, Oman mediated five rounds of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States before the 12-day war.
Baghaei did not deny Larijani’s statement about the regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in two weeks
During the same press conference, Baghaei did not deny the remarks made by Mohammad Javad Larijani, head of the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, who had claimed that Iran’s regime could build a nuclear bomb within two weeks.
The foreign ministry spokesperson said that individuals are “free to express opinions,” and that “experts and scholars” may share their interpretations about issues, including the nuclear program, which “in no way reflect the official position of Iran’s regime.”
On November 2, Larijani had said that Iran’s regime had introduced a new theory to the world: that a country capable of having “a nuclear bomb in less than two weeks” is decisively one that “does not want a bomb.”
Earlier, on September 22, seventy members of the regime’s Maljlis (parliament) had written a letter to the heads of the three branches of power and the Supreme National Security Council, calling for a change to regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s previous fatwa and urging the regime to build and maintain a nuclear bomb “for deterrence.”
Since March 2024, statements by Iranian regime officials advocating movement toward developing nuclear weapons have been on the rise.
Western countries, including the United States, have consistently accused Iran’s regime of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), previously warned that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium could be sufficient to build about ten nuclear bombs.
During the press conference, the regime’s foreign ministry spokesperson said regarding Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA: “The situation is completely clear; we remain a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and are committed to the safeguards agreement.”
Baghaei added that the agency’s inspections are carried out “based on protocols and legal procedures,” and that inspections at certain nuclear facilities, such as the Bushehr power plant and the Tehran research reactor, are currently underway.
