Washington/Tehran, 27 June 2025 (dpa/MIA) – The United States and Iran remain in contact over Tehran's nuclear programme, but no formal negotiations are currently planned, officials from both sides said on Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington is "in close communication" with Iran and its intermediaries, although there are no scheduled talks.

This follows President Donald Trump's remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday, where he announced fresh talks with Tehran "next week."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state broadcaster IRIB that diplomacy is ongoing and contacts are occurring through various channels.

"But as far as negotiations with the US are concerned, we are currently evaluating what is best for our national interests," Araghchi said. He added that no commitments had been made regarding the resumption of talks.

A planned sixth round of US-Iran discussions in Oman on June 15 was called off after Israeli forces launched strikes on Iranian targets two days before that.

Amid tit-for-tat exchanges between Iran and Israel, US forces bombed key Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend.

In the comments to IRIB, Araghchi confirmed for the first time that the attacks had caused "significant" damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

A debate is raging in Washington over the extent of the damage inflicted by US bombs on Iran's underground nuclear infrastructure at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Trump on Wednesday claimed the strikes caused "total obliteration" and lashed out at an early Pentagon intelligence analysis that found the attacks may have only set Iran's nuclear programme back by a matter of months.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also vehemently denied the analysis, telling reporters on Thursday: "Because of decisive military action, President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating — choose your word — obliterating, destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities."

Photo: epa