TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the United States is exchanging messages with Iran through mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar, according to Iranian media reports, citing his remarks in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Baghaei stressed in the interview that for any dialogue to be formed, the "proper ground" must be prepared, noting that the United States has destroyed such a ground, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

He accused Washington of violating "all its provisions" in practice under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States.

The spokesman said Iran's current priority "is to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and protect its people against the war crimes that are being perpetrated by the United States."

Under the MoU signed on June 18, the United States and Iran were scheduled to hold talks within a period of 60 days to reach a final agreement, but the talks' fate is hanging in the balance following renewed clashes between the two over the past two weeks. ■