Tehran, April 10
Iran's official news agencies have firmly rejected the reports in international media claiming that senior officials such as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Bager Ghalibaf have travelled to Pakistan to negotiate with the United States, Press TV reported on Friday.
Referring to Tasnim News Agency, who quoted a well-informed source on Thursday night, Press TV said that neither Araghchi nor Ghalibaf have left the country and they continue to remain in Tehran, actively carrying out their national duties amid regional developments.
Iranian state broadcaster Press TV citing Tasnim news discarded the claims and a report by Wall Street Journal of senior officials travelling to Islamabad for talks with Washington. Citing comments by a senior official, sources told Tasnim news that until Israeli attacks do not stop in Lebanon and the US fulfills its commitment to ceasefire in the country, the talks would remain on hold.
The source told Tasnim, "The news from some media outlets that an Iranian negotiating team has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, to negotiate with the Americans is completely false."
As per Press TV, Iran's Fars News Agency also categorically rejected the Wall Street Journal report, underlining that Iran has "no plans to attend peace talks with the American side until a ceasefire is established in Lebanon."
Citing a source, Fars refuted claims of any Iranian negotiating delegation travelling to Islamabad.
In spite of the reports from Iran, Pakistan's Deputy PM Ishaq Dar in a post on X said that visa requirements for delegates and journalists coming to Islamabad have been waived off for the talks scheduled to take place in Islamabad.
The Pakistan capital is on red-alert, with heightened security as 10,000 police and security personnel have been deployed, Dawn reported.
Despite the preparations by the self-styled mediator, there has been no clarity on when the talks will be held.
Meanwhile, Israeli envoy to US, Yechiel Leiter, lambasted Pak Defence Minister over his recent remarks on Israel, calling the country a "problem" instead of being a "mediator".
In a post on X he affirmed, "Even if it is to your dismay, Israel is here to stay. That's not for negotiation."
Israel has responded with fury to Pakistan Defence Minsiter Khawaja Asif's statement, denouncing Islamabad's mediation pitch and vowing to defend itself against "terrorists" who want Tel Aviv's destruction.
In a strong-worded response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rebuked Pakistan over its Defence Minister's statement, calling jewish state "cancerous", which Sa'ar said is "calling for Israel's annihilation."
This comes after Khawaja Asif, in a post on X, called Israel "evil and a curse for humanity" accusing it of committing "genocide" in Lebanon while peace negotiations are underway.
"Israel is evil and a curse for humanity, while peace talks are underway in Islamabad, genocide is being committed in Lebanon. Innocent citizens are being killed by Israel, first Gaza, then Iran and now Lebanon, bloodletting continues unabated," he said.
"I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews burn in hell," he added.
The Pakistan Defence Minister's statement has put the fragile ceasefire at more risk, even before the commencement of the negotiations in Islamabad.
This adds more embarrassment after Pakistan's fumble in clearly defining the terms of the two-week ceasefire. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif had claimed that Lebanon was also a part of the peace deal--a claim firmly dismissed by both US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
- ANI
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