The denial was issued by Mohsen Shamsizadeh, deputy spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in response to a claim published by The New York Times, as he wrote on his official account on X.
Shamsizadeh said the American daily had alleged that Araqchi held a meeting with media outlets on Thursday and spoke about the importance of a so-called “survival situation,” adding that the Israeli TV ‘Iran International’ had also amplified the claim with a prominent headline.
He noted that some Western parties appear determined to turn even trivial issues into pretexts for fabrication and for fueling tension.
It is entirely normal and customary for a minister or a spokesman to hold regular and periodic meetings with journalists and media representatives on foreign policy matters, the deputy spokesperson said, adding, however, that no such meeting with the characteristics described by The New York Times took place last Thursday.
He stated that such story essentially had no basis in reality.