March 4 (Reuters) – Operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence signalled openness to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to talks on ending the war, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials briefed on the matter.
The offer was made through an unnamed country’s spy agency, the NYT said, citing Middle Eastern officials and officials from a Western nation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A source from the Iranian intelligence ministry rejected the report as “absolute lies and psychological warfare in the midst of war”, Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.
The White House and the CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials in Washington are sceptical as to whether Iran or the Trump administration is really ready for an “off-ramp”, at least in the short term, the report added.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday ruled out for now any negotiations with the United States, days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on his country.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Tehran wanted to talk but it was too late, as the United States continued its military operation against Iran.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Dubai newsroom;Editing by Gareth Jones and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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