<p>Washington: US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> on Monday refused to name the Iranian leader the US is in talks with to end the three-week-old war, asserting that the interlocutor was a "top person" who is "most respected" in that country.</p><p>Speaking to reporters at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, Trump made it clear that the US was not in talks with the "second" Supreme Leader, a reference to Ayatollah Khamanei's son Mojtaba Khamenei.</p><p>"A top person … We are dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader," Trump said as he headed for Memphis after spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.</p><p>"We have not heard from the son," he said, referring to Mojtaba Khamenei.</p><p>"Every once in a while you will see a statement made (from Khamenei) but we don't know if he's living," Trump said, adding that the US military has wiped out the Iranian leadership.</p>.India is well-equipped to handle energy, trade disruptions amid Iran war: PM Modi .<p>According to reports, Iran has denied being in talks with the US, but admitted that some countries in the region were making efforts to reduce tensions.</p><p>Axios news website quoted a US source as saying that Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the US and Iran over the past two days.</p><p>The foreign ministers of the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US source told Axios.</p><p>The president said Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, and Jared Kushner spoke with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday.</p><p>However, Trump declined to say to whom Witkoff was speaking, saying he did not want them to be killed.</p><p>"Nobody wants that job right now. Nobody's exactly looking forward to being the head of that particular country, but perhaps we'll be able to solve that problem," he said.</p><p>Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</p><p>The joint strikes came after days of build-up with US President Donald Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.</p><p>Iran's retaliation escalated the war to the entire Gulf region.</p>
<p>Washington: US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> on Monday refused to name the Iranian leader the US is in talks with to end the three-week-old war, asserting that the interlocutor was a "top person" who is "most respected" in that country.</p><p>Speaking to reporters at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, Trump made it clear that the US was not in talks with the "second" Supreme Leader, a reference to Ayatollah Khamanei's son Mojtaba Khamenei.</p><p>"A top person … We are dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader," Trump said as he headed for Memphis after spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.</p><p>"We have not heard from the son," he said, referring to Mojtaba Khamenei.</p><p>"Every once in a while you will see a statement made (from Khamenei) but we don't know if he's living," Trump said, adding that the US military has wiped out the Iranian leadership.</p>.India is well-equipped to handle energy, trade disruptions amid Iran war: PM Modi .<p>According to reports, Iran has denied being in talks with the US, but admitted that some countries in the region were making efforts to reduce tensions.</p><p>Axios news website quoted a US source as saying that Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the US and Iran over the past two days.</p><p>The foreign ministers of the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US source told Axios.</p><p>The president said Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, and Jared Kushner spoke with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday.</p><p>However, Trump declined to say to whom Witkoff was speaking, saying he did not want them to be killed.</p><p>"Nobody wants that job right now. Nobody's exactly looking forward to being the head of that particular country, but perhaps we'll be able to solve that problem," he said.</p><p>Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</p><p>The joint strikes came after days of build-up with US President Donald Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.</p><p>Iran's retaliation escalated the war to the entire Gulf region.</p>