PANews reported on March 17 that, according to Jinshi, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated, "My last contact with US Special Envoy Witkov was before the US decided to end diplomatic efforts by launching another illegal military attack on Iran. Any statement to the contrary seems merely to mislead oil traders and the public." Previously, US media, citing US officials and informed sources, revealed that direct communication channels between Witkov and Araghchi had recently been reopened.