Trump claims US backchannel with IRGC; IRGC denies
The reported channel was facilitated in part by Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani, according to his office. A spokesperson for Barzani confirmed to Iran International that he had helped relay messages between Washington and Tehran as part of efforts to ease tensions.
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” Trump said of the Iranian force, adding, “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that Washington was engaged in backchannel talks with the force over the war. Trump, speaking to Fox News on Monday, said the United States had established contact with the IRGC but indicated he was in no rush to end the ongoing war.
Then-US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard contacted Barzani around May 10, with the approval of Trump and vice president JD Vance, and asked him to establish contact with IRGC commander general Ahmad Vahidi, according to Axios. Because of his relations with both the United States and Iran, according to a Kurdistan Regional Government official cited by Iran International, barzani was approached.
The confirmation came after an Axios report said the Trump administration had turned to Barzani in May to establish a direct line with the IRGC leadership. Spokesperson Dilshad Shahab said Barzani had consistently advocated dialogue and negotiations before, during and after the war. He further said that, based on information available to the IRGC and statements from Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, “no talks are currently taking place with the Americans”, citing what he described as “broken promises and the dark experience of repeated and continual U.S. breaches of commitments.”