Pakistan announces US-Iran talks 'in coming days'

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the India Today television channel on Wednesday that there are no ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran.

"There is no talks or negotiations between Iran and the United States," and there have "not been such negotiations for the past 25 days of the illegal war against Iran," Baghaei said. "No one can trust U.S. diplomacy."

"Our position is very clear," Baghaei said. "Our brave forces are focused on defending Iran's territory and sovereignty."

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

In a letter dated March 22 and sent to the International Maritime Organization, Iran said that "non-hostile vessels" can safely navigate the Strait of Hormuz "in coordination with the Iranian authorities."

The IMO circulated the letter on Tuesday.

In the letter, Tehran says that it had "taken necessary and proportionate measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance hostile operations against Iran." It named the aggressors as the U.S. and Israel.

The IMO is the United Nations body that sets international shipping standards and has been trying to establish a humanitarian corridor for the ships that are running low on supplies to exit through the Strait.

There are thousands of ships stranded in and around the Persian Gulf unable to make the journey through Iranian waters.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a post to X on Wednesday that Tehran is "closely monitoring all U.S. movements in the region, especially troop deployments."

"What the generals have broke, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's delusions," Qalibaf added.

"Do not test our resolve to defend our land," Qalibaf -- who is widely considered one of the most influential officials within the Iranian regime -- wrote.

Qalibaf's warning came amid the expected U.S. deployment of thousands of Marines and Army servicemembers to the Middle East.

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that it struck two sites in Tehran that it alleged were used to produce naval cruise missiles.

The sites were used for "developing and producing long-range sea cruise missiles that enable rapid destruction of targets at sea and on land," the IDF said.