Iran and U.S. have been in direct contact in recent days, sources say

A direct communications channel between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been reactivated in recent days, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge. Why it matters: It's not clear how substantive the messages passed between Araghchi and Witkoff were, but it's the first known direct communication between the parties since the war started more than two weeks ago.

Araghchi issued a denial after this story published, writing on X: "My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer's decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public."

Behind the scenes: The U.S. official and the source with knowledge said Araghchi sent text messages to Witkoff that focused on ending the war.

Drop Site News reported on Monday that Witkoff had sent messages to Araghchi and quoted Iranian officials who claimed the Iranian foreign minister was ignoring the White House envoy's messages.
The U.S. official claimed it was Araghchi who was attempting to engage, but told Axios the U.S. "is not talking" to Iran. Neither of the sources spoke in detail about how many texts had been exchanged or about their content.

Driving the news: President Trump said Monday that Iran had communicated with the U.S. but that it was unclear if the Iranian officials involved were authorized to make a deal.

"They want to make a deal. They are talking to our people... we have people wanting to negotiate, [but] we have no idea who they are," Trump told reporters. Despite his skepticism that Tehran is ready to make a deal, Trump said he's not opposed to talks with the Iranians "because sometimes good things come out of it." He noted that it's unclear who is making decisions in Iran, because many top officials are dead. He also mentioned that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, hasn't been seen and might be dead.

Between the lines: A senior U.S. official dismissed Iran's demand for "reparations" as part of a peace deal, but said Trump was open to a deal that would let Iran "integrate with the rest of the world and make money from their oil."

"The president is always open to a deal. But he's not negotiating from a position of weakness. He's not backing away from the reasons this conflict started," the official said.

The other side: Iranian officials have claimed in public over the last few days that they're not holding any ceasefire negotiations with the Trump administration.

The officials say Iran isn't interested in a temporary ceasefire that would allow the U.S. and Israel to regroup and attack again, but wants guarantees that any peace deal would be permanent.

The intrigue: Araghchi wasn't seen as a key decision-maker in Iran before the war and U.S. officials don't think he has authority to make decisions today.

But the Iranian foreign minister seems to be coordinating with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, who has been Iran's de facto civilian leader since the assassination of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, sources say. U.S. officials see Araghchi as the go-to interlocutor because they have a preexisting relationship with him — and he's still alive.

Editor's note: This story was updated with a denial from Araghchi. Go deeper: Trump's escalation trap