According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghae stated at a press conference today: "The US media's claims about Washington's informal contact with the Revolutionary Guard through the Iraqi Kurdistan region are pure fabrication. The reports mentioned are a media tactic and psychological warfare strategy aimed at creating divisions among Iranian decision-making bodies. Undoubtedly, such actions stem from desperation. In the past six months, the unity and consensus among relevant Iranian institutions on the issue of peace and war has been unprecedented. Facts have proven that Iran's decision-making follows a systematic process; our institutions make the best decisions after comprehensively considering all relevant factors and discussions on foreign policy issues." Previously, Axios reported, citing three sources, that Trump administration officials bypassed Iranian negotiators and directly contacted senior leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The person chosen by the US to oversee this secret communication channel was Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
