Tehran, Baghdad reject US ceasefire proposal conveyed by Iraqi PM
Iranian and Iraqi officials rejected a media report claiming the Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had delivered a US ceasefire proposal to Tehran, dismissing the report as "completely misleading" and "entirely unfounded."
An Iranian official dismissed as "completely misleading" the New York Times report about a 10-day US ceasefire proposal presented by Iraq’s prime minister, stressing that the Islamic Republic has always been committed to diplomacy.
The New York Times claimed in a report on Thursday that Tehran rejected a ceasefire proposal from US President Donald Trump that was allegedly presented by al-Zaidi during his trip to Iran.
On Friday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted an informed Iranian official as saying that the NYT report is “completely diversionary and misleading.”
“The problem of escalating conflict in the region stems solely from America’s breach of its agreements and the violation of the commitments outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding dated June 18,” the official said.
“Unlike the United States, which has used diplomacy as a tool for psychological-media games, and whose internal disputes among different factions within the US ruling establishment and the influence of the Zionist regime in its policymaking have created a kind of chaos in its decisions, Iran has always attached genuine importance to diplomacy.”
Al-Zaidi’s visit came one week after he met Trump at the White House.
During his trip to Tehran, al-Zaidi met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s top negotiator in the talks with US and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Araghchi also said Iran has no shortage of intermediaries to exchange messages with the US, stressing that the main obstacle to any progress is the United States' "irrational, excessive, and hegemonic" approach.
Araghchi dismissed speculation that Baghdad was carrying a US message to Iran.
"It is natural for the Iraqi prime minister to share his assessments and views from his trip with us," Araghchi said.
"At present, we have no problem with mediators for exchanging messages with the United States. There are enough parties capable of playing that role, and there is no real obstacle to message exchanges."
Iraq also on Friday reacted to the New York Times report, calling it “completely baseless.”
In a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the Iraqi prime minister’s media office said the “claims” in the New York Times report were “completely baseless and had no connection to reality.”
It urged media outlets “to verify information, rely on official sources and refrain from circulating unsubstantiated reports or claims attributed to anonymous sources.”