Iran Dismisses Reports on Indirect Talks with Israel in Jordan

In a Monday interview with IRNA, Qassemi referred to certain reports by the Zionist and Saudi media outlets on indirect talks between the Islamic Republic and the Zionist regime in Jordan and called them totally baseless and false.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not at all recognize the fabricated, terrorist and occupying regime of Israel [to sit for talks with it],” he said.

Motivations behind such misleading reports are completely clear, Qassemi said, adding that such absurd and biased reports are released to deflect the world’s public opinion from the recent crimes of the Zionist regime against the Palestinians.

The release of such reports by websites affiliated with the Arab-Hebrew axis is not surprising in the wake of certain Arab states’ betrayal of the Palestinian cause and their efforts to break the ten-year resistance and resilience of the Palestinians against Israel’s aggressions, he added.

Earlier, the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post quoted the Saudi-owned website Elaph claiming Iran and Israel engaged over the weekend in indirect negotiations in Jordan regarding fighting in southwestern Syria.

Elaph reported that the Iranians pledged not to participate in expected battles in southwestern Syria between President Bashar Assad’s forces and militant groups. Meanwhile, according to the report, Israel has made it clear that it will not intervene in the battles in the tri-border area, as long as Hezbollah and the Iranian-backed fighters are not involved.

The unconfirmed report added the negotiations were conducted last weekend between Iran’s ambassador to Jordan, who was in one hotel room in Amman with Iranian security personnel, while in the next room there were senior Israeli security officials, including the deputy head of the Mossad.

The report said a Jordanian mediator carried messages between the sides.

Elaph sources claimed that “the talks with the Israelis were related to fighting in Syria and the nearing campaign in southern Syria, particularly in Dera’a and Quneitra.”