Officials in the United States and Iran promptly and explicitly denied a bombshell New York Times report outlining a secret agreement between the two countries to engage in one-on-one negotiations after the American election. U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor declared the report untrue and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi rejected any suggestion of direct talks between Washington and Tehran. Interviewed intelligence analysts have declared the report quixotic, as Iran has consistently rejected talks on U.S. terms and the U.S. has avoided elevating Iran via direct negotiations outside the P5+1 framework.

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