Iran has firmly rejected claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that negotiations between Tehran and Washington are under way or scheduled to begin, directly contradicting the American president’s announcement that talks aimed at ending the ongoing conflict would start on Monday.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump stated that new negotiations with Iran would commence on Monday afternoon. He said the discussions would focus on reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear programme, claiming that the “perimeters” of a deal had already been agreed and that a comprehensive resolution was “imminent.”
Trump also said he had called off planned military strikes described by him as potentially “the biggest attack since World War II” following appeals from Iran and regional partners including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
In a clear rebuttal on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press briefing: “We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Baqaei emphasised that Iran had no plans to host a U.S. delegation or send Iranian negotiators abroad in the coming days. He noted that all Iranian negotiators remain in the country, with the exception of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is on a religious pilgrimage in Iraq. The only active discussions, he said, concern a possible temporary safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz with Omantalks that Tehran insists are separate from any broader reopening of the waterway or direct engagement with the United States.
Iranian state media further dismissed Trump’s assertion that Tehran had requested a pause in military action, with one outlet labelling the claim “nothing but a new lie.”
The conflicting statements come amid a six-month conflict that has repeatedly disrupted global energy markets and raised concerns over the security of one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes. Oil prices fell following Trump’s announcement of imminent talks, only for markets to remain volatile in the face of Tehran’s denial.
Iran continues to maintain that any meaningful diplomatic progress requires an end to what it describes as U.S. aggression and threats, while the Trump administration has repeatedly signalled a preference for a negotiated outcome over further military escalation.
Both sides remain publicly at odds over the existence and status of any direct negotiations.