Reports that diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran had entered a more detailed phase were dismissed by officials in Iran on Thursday. Fars News, a media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cited an informed source to label reports from Axios and Al Jazeera as false, asserting the claims were designed to manipulate oil prices and global markets. The source also rejected the specific claim that Iranian technical experts had been dispatched to New York to join talks.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell nearly 3% within an hour of the reports, which also triggered a rise in the S&P 500 and gold prices. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Al Jazeera that the US has remained open to diplomacy throughout the conflict, though some analysts warned that the current window for diplomatic resolution is closing.