US President Donald Trump has flatly denied offering Iran any incentives to bring the war to an end, pushing back against reports that his administration was prepared to sweeten a final agreement with sanctions relief and access to frozen assets.
“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The rebuttal followed stories by Axios and CNN, both of which cited unidentified US officials as saying Mr Trump was willing to ease sanctions and release Iranian funds if Tehran made what they described as “concrete progress” on its nuclear programme.
Mr Trump has repeatedly framed preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb as a central objective of the war. He has also pointed to ending Iran’s ability to strike its neighbours and creating conditions in which Iranians could topple their leadership.
Iran does not have nuclear weapons and denies seeking to build them, while insisting it is entitled to develop domestic nuclear energy capacity.
Trump says US will win Iran war ‘very soon’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation”, said Tehran was prepared to negotiate over its nuclear programme and other issues, but would not submit to what he called “bullying or coercion”.
“Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” Mr Pezeshkian said. He added that Iran had already agreed that “we’re not supposed to develop nuclear weapons”.
Officials from the United States and Iran held separate discussions with mediators on Monday, according to officials in both countries, as part of a renewed push to halt the seven-month war.
Iran said on Sunday that diplomacy remained the only route to resolving its conflict with the United States and Israel.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on social media. “Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock.”
Mr Araqchi told reporters at the UN on Friday that the proposed deal would set off a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait, alongside a pause in fighting across the region.
Mr Trump rejected that plan on Saturday, arguing that Tehran’s push for an agreement over the strategic waterway was being driven by weakness.
“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
Mr Araqchi said the mediators handling Tehran’s contacts with Washington had not formally delivered any US rejection.
“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” Mr Araqchi posted.
Oil prices rise
The war, which Mr Trump launched alongside Israel in February under the name “Operation Epic Fury”, has killed thousands, shaken global energy markets, driven oil prices higher and added to worldwide inflation.
Iran and allied forces have answered by widening the conflict across the region. Iran has targeted US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles, and its Houthi partners in Yemen have struck Saudi interests.
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Saudi Arabia, the largest of the Gulf states, has become more deeply embroiled this month as Houthi fighters advanced in Yemen, routing forces allied with the Saudi-backed government and raising the risk to Saudi oil exports shipped via the Red Sea.
Oil prices climbed for a second straight session this morning, with ongoing anxiety about Middle East supply outweighing indications that crude exports from the region are recovering.
Brent crude futures had risen $1.49, or 1.4%, to $106.77 a barrel by 4.30am Irish time while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $93.94, up $1.34, or 1.5%. Both benchmarks closed the previous session at nearly $1 a barrel higher.
