Iran rejects Trump’s claim of fresh talks with US
Iran has dismissed Donald Trump’s assertion that a new round of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict would begin on Monday, after the US president said he halted what he described as “massive” military strikes against the country.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Iran “knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming”, adding: “We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran and US allies in the Middle East had asked him to “hold off”, claiming the “perimeters” of an agreement had already been settled.
However, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that there were no negotiations with the United States and no plans for such talks.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was instead holding discussions with Oman to reach “an understanding over a path to ensure the security of shipping passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.
Previous contacts between Washington and Tehran have taken place through mediators.
Trump has on several occasions expressed confidence that a negotiated settlement is close, although exchanges of attacks have continued.
While speaking on Air Force One, Trump did not give a timeline for reaching an agreement with Tehran, saying: “We’ll just see how it is. We’re ready to go anytime we want… I’m not looking to kill people.”
The US president also did not say where the proposed Monday talks would take place or identify those expected to participate.
Trump said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, along with partners including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, urged him not to carry out strikes over the weekend.
“We were all set to go,” Trump said. “The reason they asked is [that] they think there’s a deal,” he said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and there will be a deal on the nuclear.”
Oil prices declined in Asian trading on Monday after Trump’s comments. Brent crude dropped 4.5 percent to $83.98 per barrel, while US-traded crude fell 4.6 percent to $80.74.
Energy markets have remained volatile since fighting began on February 28, as concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz affected trading.
About one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports normally pass through the waterway.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran requested a pause in military action, describing the president’s remarks as “nothing but a new lie”.
Trump also said aboard Air Force One that the cancelled operation would have been “the biggest attack since World War Two”, adding that it could have disrupted efforts to secure a negotiated settlement.
He declined to say whether the planned operation would have targeted Iran’s energy facilities.
Earlier, Iran’s acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza said Tehran regarded threats from its opponents as “real and credible”, even if they were part of psychological warfare.
“We will neither be caught off guard nor remain passive,” he added.
Trump has previously issued strong warnings to Iran before later saying diplomacy remained an option.
In his Truth Social post on Saturday, he said the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II”.
He also said calling off the operation would be “for the future benefit of the world and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran”.
On April 7, Trump warned that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran refused to enter peace negotiations, while also threatening action against civilian infrastructure and power plants.
That warning was followed by direct talks in Pakistan led by Vice-President JD Vance, but the discussions did not produce an agreement.
The Trump administration has continued to downplay polling indicating that the conflict and its economic consequences remain unpopular with many Americans, including Republican voters.
Surveys showing growing dissatisfaction over the handling of the war have raised concerns among some conservative strategists ahead of the November midterm elections.
