Iran Says No Talks Held With US to Extend Ceasefire

TEHRAN: Iran has said there have been no talks with the United States to extend their ceasefire, arguing that the agreement never officially entered into force from Tehran’s perspective.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday that there was therefore no ceasefire period to extend.

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.

The agreement called for an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts.” However, the deal later broke down, with US President Donald Trump saying on July 7 that the agreement was “over”. Iran’s foreign ministry declared it “suspended” a week later.

The Iranian source said Tehran believed the United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it several days later.

The 60-day period mentioned in the agreement was intended to provide time for Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement on limiting Iran’s nuclear programme and lifting US sanctions.

The source said several conditions were also considered necessary before further negotiations could begin. These included a ceasefire in Lebanon, freedom of navigation in the Gulf and allowing Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers.

According to the Iranian source, mediators are currently discussing the possibility of the United States returning to the interim agreement and setting a timeframe for fulfilling its commitments.

However, the source said there had been “absolutely no progress” on the issue so far.