IRAN: Foreign Min Pushes Back On Trump Claims Of Tehran Seeking A Deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has pushed back on claims from US President Donald Trump that Iran "wants to make a deal". Newsweek reports Araghchi telling journalists earlier on 28 Jan that "we have not made any request for negotiations". The minister acknowledged that "Various intermediaries do get in touch," but that "no request" for talks has come from the Iranian side. Iran’s Ambassador to Geneva, Ali Bahreini, speaking to the semi-official ISNA, said that Araghchi was exchanging messages with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on an informal basis, but that “It can hardly be called a negotiation.”
- After Trump threatened Iran with a "big armada" of warships, a carrier strike force has arrived in US Central Command's 'area of responsibility'. Araghchi said that "pursuing diplomacy through military threats cannot be effective or constructive. If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats..."
- The presence of the carrier strike group, and the sizeable readiness exercises they are due to undertake, have raised speculation that the US may engage in strikes against Iranian targets in response to the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters that have killed at least 3,100 and potentially more than 30,000.
- In comparison to the 12 Day War in June 2025, there is more regional pushback against any US action. The UAE has confirmed it has closed its territory to any military attack on Iran. Israel has been relatively quiet on the topic, with speculation that the Iron Dome missile defence system remains depleted after last year's attacks, and as such the Israeli gov't is less willing to risk an Iranian counterattack should it support any US action.
Want to read more?
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Historical bullets
NOK: NOKSEK Downside Has Been Contained By April Lows For Now
NOKSEK remains at an interesting technical juncture. Strong support at the April 9 low of 0.9065 contained downside earlier this month, after Norges Bank’s December MPR rate path was more hawkish than expected. However, the trend condition in the cross remains bearish, with rallies short of the 20-day EMA at 0.9197 considered corrective.
- We wrote earlier this month that the 0.90-0.91 area has historically been an important long-term support zone in NOKSEK. See here
- For our full review of the December Norges Bank meeting, see here
Figure 1: NOKSEK Since 2022 (Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P)
NOK: January FX Transactions Set To Confirm Increased CB Footprint
Tomorrow sees Norges Bank’s January FX transactions released. The central bank is expected to step up NOK purchases in 2026, a combination of lower petroleum revenues and continued government transfers to limit bank reserve growth. Given thin holiday season liquidity, the announcement could spur some temporary volatility in NOK crosses.
- The psychological impact of an increased central bank FX market footprint may provide background support to the krone next year. However, it’s important to remember that petroleum revenue-related FX transactions are generally interpreted as a residual flow, since lower aggregate petroleum revenues are considered to be net NOK-negative all else equal.
- See a selection of sell side views on Norges Bank FX transactions below:
- SEB: “The budget proposal for 2026 implies less petroleum revenues, and a larger need to exchange FX to NOK to fund the non-oil budget deficit. According to the budget, NOK purchases will amount to minimum NOK 650mn/d on average, with risks skewed to the upside. Note that new information on petroleum taxes will become available in late January, affecting purchases from Feb. In addition, Norges Bank is buying NOK 126mn/day to fund the transfer of dividends to the government”
- DNB: “For 2026, we forecast that the government will need to purchase cNOK190bn to cover the gap between NOK revenues from petroleum activities and the amount required to finance the budget deficit. This corresponds to FX sales of cNOK800m/d in 2026. In addition, Norges Bank sold FX equivalent to NOK126m/d since March to fund dividend transfers to the government”…. “Overall, we expect Norges Bank to sell FX equivalent to approximately NOK930m/d in January”
- Nordea: “From 2 January 2026, we expect Norges Bank to buy a total of NOK 950 million per day. “
MNI EXCLUSIVE: Sources close to Chinese policymakers anticipate major policy ann
Sources close to Chinese policymakers anticipate a major policy announcement.- On MNI Policy MainWire now, for more details please contact sales@marketnews.com
