Senior BBC journalist Lyse Doucet has dismissed Donald Trump’s claims about peace talks with Iran as “utterly fanciful.”
Doucet, who works as the BBC’s chief international correspondent, said suggestions that vice-president JD Vance would sit down face-to-face with Iranian officials were “just not going to happen.”
On Monday, Trump said talks had begun with Iran to end the war there, which has raged on for weeks ever since the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran at the end of February.
Just hours later, Tehran denied these claims and said officials had not had any contact with the US.
As of Tuesday, the White House has told the BBC that talks with Iran remain “fluid.”
Speaking on Radio 4′s Today programme on Tuesday, Doucet gave her analysis of the situation.
Per Huffpost, she said: “The only de-escalation, if we can call it that, is that when Donald Trump came back from the dangerous, dangerous brink that he had brought Iran and indeed the world to.
“He de-escalated the situation in the sense that oil prices came down, at least temporarily, stock prices went up, and there’s many accusations now – yet to be proven – of insider trading.
“President Trump came out with these declarations that there were very strong talks taking place. He spoke of a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.
“It seems from what we can see, from what we hear, what is happening is far less serious and far less significant.”
There had also been suggestions that Vance could meet face-to-face with Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, to agree a peace deal.
However, Doucet poured cold water on any claims this was a realistic possibility, saying: “The idea that he would be about to go to Pakistan this weekend and meet face to face with JD Vance is utterly fanciful, that’s just not going to happen.”
Pakistan has said it is ready to facilitate talks between the two sides. However, Ghalibaf has dismissed suggestion of any talks, saying reports are “fake news.”