Iran had no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in coming days, says spox Baghaei
TEHRAN
Iran said on Monday that no negotiations with the United States were currently being held despite US President Donald Trump announcing earlier that the two sides were set to begin parleys later today. “Iran is not currently holding talks with the United States and is now in discussions with Oman over a temporary safe route through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a televised press conference.
On Sunday, Trump said that new negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on striking the country to pursue a deal to end the war entering its sixth month. Trump told reporters that the talks would cover the Strait of Hormuz and ultimately, the denuclearisation of Iran. Oil prices fell on Monday at the opening of Asian trade after Trump announced the new negotiations, with West Texas Intermediate dropping 4.7 per cent to $80.72 per barrel.
Following a return to strikes last month, fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again. Trump had threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reportedly considering renewed attacks including against energy infrastructure, with US embassies across the region on alert. Trump pulled back from that threat on Saturday, saying the “parameters” of a deal were there.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, without providing details of the venue or participants in the talks.
The US president said he had been asked by Iran as well as US partners Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to hold off on the strikes, which he claimed would have been “the biggest attack since World War II”. Iranian media denied that Tehran had asked Trump not to strike.
The US president said at the start of the conflict that the war was necessary to deal with Iran’s nuclear programme. Western nations accuse Iran of seeking a bomb, though Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian in nature.
