US Official Reveals Exchange of Messages Between Washington, Tehran

Caption: US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking. AAWSAT AR
Caption: US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking. AAWSAT AR
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US Official Reveals Exchange of Messages Between Washington, Tehran

Caption: US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking. AAWSAT AR
Caption: US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking. AAWSAT AR

A US official revealed that Washington exchanged letters with Iran through channels via mediators from Gulf and other countries, confirming his country’s willingness to negotiate directly with Tehran.

Tim Lenderking, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs in the Near East Bureau at the US Department of State said Washington wanted to hold direct negotiations with Tehran but the Iranians refused and continued with their evil actions.

Speaking Wednesday at the 29th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference, the US official said there is a US desire, even with the current administration of Donald Trump, to hold talks with Iran.

"One of the most important issues discussed by the current US administration during this important period is Washington’s desire to preserve its good ties in the region, and preserve common interests in the Gulf and the Middle East in general."

Lenderking did not reveal the names of the countries who mediated between the US and Tehran nor the time of the letters. However, the US official hoped that Washington and Tehran could reach a deal to hold direct talks on terms that both sides agree on.



Who Is Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s New Prime Minister-Designate?

Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media after Security Council consultations on the Palestinian request for full UN membership during the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 26, 2011. (AFP)
Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media after Security Council consultations on the Palestinian request for full UN membership during the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 26, 2011. (AFP)
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Who Is Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s New Prime Minister-Designate?

Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media after Security Council consultations on the Palestinian request for full UN membership during the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 26, 2011. (AFP)
Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media after Security Council consultations on the Palestinian request for full UN membership during the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 26, 2011. (AFP)

President Joseph Aoun summoned jurist Nawaf Salam on Monday to designate him as Lebanon's prime minister, after a majority of Lebanese lawmakers nominated him for the post.

Salam, 71, is an attorney and judge who served as Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations from 2007-17.

He won support from 84 of Lebanon's 128 parliamentarians, among them leading Christian and Druze factions and prominent Sunni Muslim lawmakers, including Hezbollah allies.

But Hezbollah and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement, which hold all the seats reserved for Shiite Muslims in parliament, named nobody. Hezbollah accused its opponents of seeking to exclude the group.

Salam joined International Court of Justice in 2018 and was named as its president on Feb. 6, 2024 for a three-year term, the first Lebanese judge to the hold the position.

He took over the presidency of the ICJ, which is based in The Hague, as it held its first hearing on a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has dismissed as baseless.

Salam is from a historically political family: his uncle Saeb Salam served as premier in Lebanon four times before the 1975-1990 civil war, and his older cousin Tammam Salam served as Lebanon's prime minister from 2014-2016.