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Iran has denied that it is currently negotiating with the United States, contradicting President Donald Trump’s announcement that fresh talks aimed at ending the six-month-old conflict would begin on Monday.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said no direct negotiations were taking place with Washington and insisted that Tehran’s ongoing discussions were with Oman over arrangements for navigation through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei made the clarification during a weekly press briefing on Monday.
“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Baqaei said.
His remarks came a day after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that new negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday afternoon and would focus on the Strait of Hormuz as well as the broader issue of 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 said, without disclosing the venue or participants.
The US president also claimed he had postponed a planned military strike on Iran to allow room for diplomacy, saying the framework of a possible agreement was already emerging.
However, Iranian officials rejected suggestions that Tehran had requested a pause in US military action, and state media denied reports that Iran had appealed to Trump to hold off on further strikes.
The dispute comes as the war between Iran, Israel and the United States enters its sixth month, following the large-scale US-Israeli strikes that began on February 28.
While both sides have engaged in intermittent diplomatic efforts during the conflict, Tehran maintains that its current priority is to resolve maritime arrangements with Oman rather than to conduct direct negotiations with Washington.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world’s oil and gas exports passes, has become a central point of contention in efforts to reduce tensions. Iran has restricted vessel movements through the waterway during the conflict and insists that any future arrangement must protect its sovereignty and security interests.
Baqaei said Iran and Oman were close to reaching an understanding on a mutually acceptable navigation route through the strait but stressed that such an agreement should not be interpreted as a full reopening of the waterway.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran is near, although previous ceasefire and negotiation efforts have repeatedly broken down as hostilities resumed.
