Iran on Wednesday denied that it had held discussions with the United States about extending their ceasefire, saying that from Tehran’s perspective the agreement never entered into force and therefore there was nothing to prolong.
The comments came after Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, citing Pakistani government sources, reported that Iran and the United States had agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire under an interim agreement signed in June.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS, REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst, shutterstock)
An Iranian source told Reuters that no such talks had taken place.
“There is no talk of an extension because, from Iran’s perspective, there is no period that began and therefore nothing to extend,” the source said. “The United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later.”
The June agreement called for an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts,” but quickly unraveled. U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 7 that the ceasefire was “over,” while Iran’s Foreign Ministry described it a week later as “suspended.”
The 60-day period referenced in the agreement was not a ceasefire timeline, but rather a window in which Iran and the United States were expected to reach a broader agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Several conditions, including a ceasefire in Lebanon, freedom of navigation in the Gulf and waivers allowing Iran to sell oil, were viewed as necessary before moving into the next phase of negotiations.
According to the Iranian source, one issue currently being discussed through mediators is a possible U.S. return to the interim agreement and the establishment of a timeline for implementing its commitments.
“There has been absolutely no progress on this issue,” the source said.