Iran ex-foreign minister: Indirect Tehran-Washington talks going on for years

Kamal Kharrazi, the Chairman of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said, “Indirect talks between Iran and the US are not new. It has been in place for years and it is still in place today, either through the Swiss Embassy, which protects American interests in Iran, or through some countries in the region.”

On the Israeli military campaign against the Gaza Strip and the spillover of the conflict in the region, Kharrazi said, “In the recent developments, both Iran’s and America’s policies were based on preventing the expansion of the war, and we had indirect talks with the US in this regard.”

The former foreign minister made the assertion answering a question on some US media reports that Washington accosted Tehran after its reprisal Operation True Promise against the Israeli regime last month to stop the spread of the war.

Asked whether American officials urged Iran to stop backing the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, he said, “The US cannot make such a request. We have the duty to defend the axis of resistance. If the US makes such a request, the answer is negative.”

Kharrazi further explained that the resistance movements in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq do not receive orders from Iran and only consult with it.