Iran's top diplomat contacted Witkoff amid Trump's threats
Steve Witkoff (Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN/EPA)

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi contacts US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff amid Donald Trump's threats to use military force against the Islamic Republic regime in support of the protests in the country. About this wrote Axios website, citing two informed interlocutors, and later confirmed the fact of the conversation by Aragci himself.

The interlocutors said that the conversation, which took place over the weekend (January 11-12), is likely an attempt by Iran to ease tensions with the United States or at least buy more time before Trump orders measures to further weaken the regime.

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This communication is the first indication that a direct channel of communication between Washington and Tehran is still open, despite the impasse in nuclear negotiations and the exchange of threats between the countries.

According to one of the interlocutors, Araghchi and Witkoff discussed the possibility of holding a meeting in the coming days. The interlocutors did not answer whether they communicated by phone or text message.

The White House and the State Department declined to comment.

According to U.S. officials, Trump's special envoy and the Iranian minister began exchanging text messages during the nuclear talks between the two countries in 2025. They continued to communicate even after the of U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June, and, according to a U.S. official and two interlocutors, continued to be in contact as late as October regarding possible nuclear negotiations.

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Araghchi later confirmed to al-Jazeera that he had spoken to Witkoff and that a possible meeting was being discussed.

"There are ideas that are being considered," the official said.

However, he emphasized that Tehran would not negotiate under military threats.

The Iranian FM also said that his country is ready if the United States wants to try to use military force against Tehran again.

"We have a higher level of military readiness than during the last war (referring to the between Iran and Israel in June 2025 – Ed.) There are those who are trying to drag Washington into a war to advance Israel's interests," Araghchi said.

UPDATED. Trump announced the introduction of new secondary tariffs against those who work with Iran.

  • On January 10, Trump said that his country was ready to help Iranians protesting against the current regime in their country. At the same time, the WSJ's interlocutors said that the US presidential administration held preliminary discussions of a possible attack on the Islamic Republic.
  • Reuters interlocutors said that Israel is on high alert for any US interference in Iran's affairs.
  • As of January 11, 116 people were known to have died during the protests in Iran, and about 2,600 more were detained.
  • Semyvolos, director of the Center for Middle East Studies, explained in an interview with LIGA.net that there are positive and negative for Ukraine scenarios for the development of protests in Iran.