TEHRAN, Jun. 06 (MNA) – Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei reacted to a tweet by US President Donald Trump who had called for negotiations with Tehran.

“Trump has said that now it’s time to come and negotiate with him. Negotiation with you is a poison even after you come out of this self-made quagmire,” Rezaei tweeted on Friday night.

"Right now you are stuck in a quagmire," he added. 

The tweet came in response to a tweet by Trump after the release of Michael White. “So great to have Michael home. Just arrived. Very exciting. Thank you to Iran. Don’t wait until after U.S. Election to make the Big deal. I’m going to win. You’ll make a better deal now!”

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have dismissed claims by the United States administration that a recent prisoner swap between Washington and Tehran was the outcome of successful negotiations between the two sides.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said on Friday that US President Donald Trump is trying to use the release of American national Michael White from Iranian custody as a political gimmick as he seeks to divert public attention from his numerous failures.

“The prisoner swap has not been the result of negotiations and no talks will be held in the future (between the US and Iran),” said Shamkhani in a post on his Twitter page.

Officials in the US administration have claimed that it was Trump who got the release of White from Iran. Shamkhani, however, dismissed those claims, saying the US president wants to cover up his failures in dealing with various crises, including the new coronavirus pandemic and the spread of anti-racism protests across the US.

MAH/ 4942019