[[{"content_id":420330,"content_number":0,"portal_id":2,"lang_id":"en","content_title":"IRGC calls Trump’s claims of backchannel talks ‘delusions’","content_rtitr":"","content_short_title":null,"content_summary":"The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has dismissed claims by US President Donald Trump that his administration held backchannel talks with the elite Iranian military force in May.","content_summary_fill":1,"content_body":"&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said on Monday that Trump&rsquo;s assertion earlier in the day that his representatives had opened a direct backchannel with Iran was a lie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&ldquo;Trump&#39;s claim about backchannel talks with the IRGC is delusions stemming from defeat&hellip; this lie by Trump is merely fantasy born of the delusions and nightmares resulting from defeat and desperation in the war,&rdquo; Mohebbi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMohebbi emphasized that no negotiations have been underway between IRGC officials and the Americans since the start of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran in late February, and throughout the past six months when Iran and the US have gone through periods of indirect negotiations.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&ldquo;The IRGC is the arm and voice of the power of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, and it speaks its word on the battlefield; diplomatic matters fall within the purview of other sectors of the Islamic Republic,&rdquo; said the IRGC official.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe added that such claims are only an attempt by Trump to temporarily control the price of oil and energy in the world amid Iran&rsquo;s firm control over the Strait of Hormuz - a key waterway in the Persian Gulf that handles around a fifth of the global oil shipments.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&ldquo;Trump&#39;s mental fantasies will not help him on the battlefield,&rdquo; Mohebbi said, adding that the only way for Trump and the Americans to save their country from &ldquo;greater and more extensive losses&rdquo; is to accept defeat and implement the conditions set by Iran to restore normal oil transit in the Persian Gulf.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIn a Monday interview with Fox News, Trump appeared to confirm reports that Washington had engaged in backchannel talks with the IRGC.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat came a day after Axios reported that in May, US negotiators trying to reach a deal with Iran to end the war went around Iran&#39;s negotiators and reached out directly to the IRGC leadership through Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region in Iraq.","content_html":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said on Monday that Trump&rsquo;s assertion earlier in the day that his representatives had opened a direct backchannel with Iran was a lie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">&ldquo;Trump&#39;s claim about backchannel talks with the IRGC is delusions stemming from defeat&hellip; this lie by Trump is merely fantasy born of the delusions and nightmares resulting from defeat and desperation in the war,&rdquo; Mohebbi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">Mohebbi emphasized that no negotiations have been underway between IRGC officials and the Americans since the start of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran in late February, and throughout the past six months when Iran and the US have gone through periods of indirect negotiations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">&ldquo;The IRGC is the arm and voice of the power of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, and it speaks its word on the battlefield; diplomatic matters fall within the purview of other sectors of the Islamic Republic,&rdquo; said the IRGC official.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">He added that such claims are only an attempt by Trump to temporarily control the price of oil and energy in the world amid Iran&rsquo;s firm control over the Strait of Hormuz - a key waterway in the Persian Gulf that handles around a fifth of the global oil shipments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">&ldquo;Trump&#39;s mental fantasies will not help him on the battlefield,&rdquo; Mohebbi said, adding that the only way for Trump and the Americans to save their country from &ldquo;greater and more extensive losses&rdquo; is to accept defeat and implement the conditions set by Iran to restore normal oil transit in the Persian Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">In a Monday interview with Fox News, Trump appeared to confirm reports that Washington had engaged in backchannel talks with the IRGC.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">That came a day after Axios reported that in May, US negotiators trying to reach a deal with Iran to end the war went around Iran&#39;s negotiators and reached out directly to the IRGC leadership through Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region in Iraq.<\/span><\/p>","content_source":"","content_url":"","content_date_start":"2026-08-18 11:47:17","content_date_event":"2026-08-18 11:47:17","content_date_event_start":null,"content_date_event_end":null,"content_show_title_slider":1,"content_date_last_edit":"2026-08-18 11:48:31","content_date_register":"2026-08-18 11:48:31","content_columns":0,"content_show_img":1,"content_show_details":0,"content_show_related_img":0,"content_show_slider":1,"content_comment":1,"content_score":0,"tag_id":0,"score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"uid":43,"eid":0,"attach_title":"IRGC calls Trump’s claims of backchannel talks ‘delusions’","attaches":[{"sizes":{"150":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_150_84.webp","300":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_300_168.webp","400":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_400_224.webp","600":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_600_337.webp","900":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_900_505.webp","1200":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022_1000_561.jpg"},"ext":"jpg","file_media":1,"token":3737267022,"files":{"original":{"url":".\/file\/2\/attach\/202608\/573456_3737267022.jpg","width":1000,"height":561,"size":0}}}]}]]