Iran has dismissed claims by United States President Donald Trump that fresh negotiations between Washington and Tehran are set to begin, insisting no direct talks with the US are currently underway.
Trump had announced on Sunday that negotiations would commence on Monday as part of efforts to end the six-month conflict between the two countries. He also said he had postponed plans for new military strikes against Iran to allow diplomacy another chance.
The United States and Iran have remained at war since February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iranian targets. Although several rounds of intermittent diplomacy have eased tensions at times, the conflict has continued.
Last week, Trump warned that Iran could face severe military action, with reports indicating the US was considering renewed attacks, including on Iranian energy infrastructure. However, he later suggested progress had been made toward a possible agreement, saying the framework for a deal was already taking shape.
Reacting on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei rejected Trump’s assertion, stating that Tehran was not engaged in negotiations with Washington.
“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Baqaei said during a weekly press briefing.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the central issues in the conflict. Iran has imposed restrictions on commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, insisting on controlling vessel movement and collecting transit fees, a position strongly opposed by the United States.
Before the conflict began, ships passed freely through the strait, one of the world’s most important energy trade routes. Tehran now insists vessels use a route close to its coastline, while Washington continues to push for unrestricted international access.
Baqaei also disclosed that Iran and Oman were close to reaching an agreement on managing navigation through the waterway.
“We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides — neither the northern route nor the southern route — but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said.
He, however, stressed that any agreement with Oman would not amount to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported that a commercial tanker sailing off the coast of Oman on Sunday heard an explosion nearby. The vessel and its crew were not harmed.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said the proposed talks would focus on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” Trump told reporters, without disclosing where the talks would take place or who would participate.
Trump also claimed that Iran, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, had urged him to suspend planned military action, which he described as potentially “the biggest attack since World War II.”
Iranian state media denied the president’s claim that Tehran requested a halt to further strikes.
The US president has repeatedly predicted that an agreement to end the conflict is within reach, although previous ceasefire efforts collapsed and hostilities resumed.
A ceasefire reached last month failed to hold despite expectations that it would restore free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas exports.
Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesperson for the parliament’s national security commission, said mediators were working to revive a memorandum of understanding reached between the two countries in June, describing it as a foundation for broader peace negotiations.
“They know that the main issue and, in fact, the key to the matter right now is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views,” Ghashghavi said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also reaffirmed Tehran’s position, writing on X:
“We must strive to compel the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed.”
