Iran foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei denied US media reports that Washington
held informal contact with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps via Iraqi
Kurdistan, calling the story fabricated and a psychological operation intended
to sow division. He said Iranian institutions have shown unprecedented unity on
war-and-peace issues over the past six months and that decisions follow
institutional processes. Axios earlier reported that Trump administration
officials bypassed Iranian negotiators and used Iraqi Kurdistan regional
president Nechirvan Barzani as an intermediary to contact IRGC leaders.
