On Sunday, the New York Times published an article titled "U.S. and Iran Deny Plan for Nuclear Talks" on the issue of the possibility of one-on-one talks between the U. S. and Iran on the Iranian nuclear problem. This question has been raised by the New York Times earlier in an article published over the weekend.
According to Brian Knowlton and Thomas Erdbrink, the authors of the article, Iran and the United States have not agreed yet in principle to hold direct talks after the presidential election in the U. S. "On Saturday, the White House denied that a final agreement on direct talks had been reached, while saying that it remained open to such contacts", the article says.
The Iranian side also denies the fact that such an agreement has been achieved. “We do not have anything such as talks with the United States,” Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the semiofficial Fars news agency. The article says that "Mr. Salehi predicted that there would be a new round of talks in November with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — including the United States — and Germany, but said that “there is no fixed date yet.”
"According to an Obama administration official, an understanding on direct talks was reached with senior Iranian officials who report to Ayatollah Khamenei", the authors say.
Meanwhile, the Iranian officials do not recognize the fact that any behind-the-scene negotiations have been held.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, expressed his opinion on the issue in question. According to the New York Times, Netanyahu "said Sunday that although he did not know whether the United States and Iran had discussed the possibility of direct negotiations, “very sharp sanctions and a credible military option” were the best means to halt Tehran’s nuclear program".
