Alex Brandon/AP Photo
Iran has denied it is engaged in negotiations with the U.S. — directly contradicting President Donald Trump’s announcement made just hours earlier that fresh talks aimed at ending the six-month conflict would begin Monday and that a peace deal was “imminent.”
“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a weekly press briefing.
The statement came after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that negotiations would start “tomorrow afternoon” and focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
The president also claimed he had abandoned plans for what he described as “the biggest attack since World War II” after appeals from Iran and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
“I’m not looking to kill people, ’cause people die,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of people die. And we don’t want that.”
He added: “Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”
Trump also declared over the weekend that the “perimeters” of a deal had been agreed to, and days after he warned the U.S. would strike Iran “very hard” if diplomacy failed.
Previous ceasefire efforts collapsed last month, triggering renewed exchanges after Iran attacked a shipping vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Baqaei added that talks between Iran and Oman were close to reaching an understanding on a shipping route “acceptable to both sides,” adding: “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 stressed, however, that any agreement would not amount to reopening the strait.
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