TASNIM Agency Attacks Foreign Minister Araghchi: Met with Whitaker Without Coordination

In Iran criticism came out against Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after he met in New York with envoys of President Trump, Steve Whitaker and Jared Kushner, and the TASNIM news agency claimed the meeting took place without coordination and approval.

The TASNIM news agency claimed that 'the incorrect interaction of Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi with Whitaker was carried out without coordination and approval from bodies that define policy and are responsible in this area (including the Supreme National Security Council).' It was also written that 'Araghchi must account to the relevant bodies and to the people in Iran for this incorrect action, which contradicts the national interests.'

Mohsen Rezai, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, stated in a television interview that Iran's seven conditions were supposed to be conveyed again to mediators. According to the report, the statement indirectly suggests that permission was not given to interact with Whitaker.

The meeting in New York took place with Qatar and Pakistan as mediators. According to Iranian state television, it was held at the request of the American representatives, and Araghchi presented Iran's conditions for opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war, including immediate lifting of the naval blockade, immediate release of frozen Iranian assets and ending the war in all 'resistance fronts.'

President Trump said the meeting was 'very good,' but returned and clarified that Iran faces two options: 'They have one option with potential to become a great nation, or an option of annihilation.' Earlier he said: 'We are talking with the Iranians all the time, including today.'