WASHINGTON, March 23. /TASS/. The United States is in contact with a key figure in Iran, but not the new supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump said.

"The discussions took place yesterday (March 22 - TASS). They went into yesterday evening (EST - TASS)," the American leader told journalists at West Palm Beach airport. He added that the talks would continue in the coming hours. "We're going to get together today, probably by phone, because it's very hard to find a country [for an in-person meeting]. It's very hard for them to get out, I guess. But we'll at some point, very, very soon, meet," Trump stated.

When asked to specify who the US is negotiating with, he replied, "a top person." "No, not the supreme leader," the president said. "Don't forget, we've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader," Trump told reporters. "Nobody heard of the second supreme leader, the son. Nobody. We have not heard from the son. <...> We don't know if he's living," he added.

According to Trump, information about the new contacts between the US and Iran probably "hasn't been conveyed" to the officials in the Islamic Republic who are denying it. He said it is difficult for Iranian authorities to maintain communication because it has been "blown to pieces.".