Both the United States and Iran are denying claims of having reached an agreement in principle for direct, one-on-one nuclear talks. The New York Times reported Saturday that a deal had been struck between U.S. diplomats and top Iranian officials reporting to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran is said to have asked that the talks be delayed until after the upcoming November elections so they could know with whom they’d be sitting down. But in a statement, the White House said: “It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections.” Speaking to journalists, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also denied the report.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi: “We don’t have anything like discussions or negotiations with America. Yes, we have negotiations with the P5+1 group of nations. If it is about nuclear talks, the talks are going on with the P5+1 group of nations. We have no discussions with the United States.”

The news comes as Iran grapples with a plunging currency and growing internal hardship in the face of crippling international sanctions. More broadly, Iran has proposed the establishment of a nuclear-free Middle East, but that call has gone all but ignored.