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“Axios just released a story that ‘Trump’ offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
The Axios story reported that Trump “is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release Iranian frozen funds in return for concrete Iranian steps regarding the nuclear program.” It quoted unnamed US officials.
The 80-year-old Republican called the story “a HOAX” and said the news site should withdraw it.
The reaction comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was slated to meet with Qatari mediators Monday in New York.
US and Iranian officials met last week in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The state news agency IRNA reported Monday that Tehran had no more direct talks scheduled with Washington.On Saturday, Trump publicly rejected a proposal from Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On Sunday, Trump told Axios he expected talks to resume in coming days.
The strategic Strait of Hormuz lies at the heart of the conflict. The narrow waterway normally carries a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas.
The route has been effectively blockaded by Tehran since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Prices for gas and other products in the US have risen dramatically since the war began, as Trump faces dwindling popularity in national polls and his party worries about losing their majority in Congress in midterm elections come November.
US Vice President JD Vance blames Iranian leaders for the breakdown of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, saying they “screwed up” by deciding to target commercial ships in regional waters, Al Jazeera reports.
In his interview with journalist Vince Coglianese, he says, “I think the Iranians recognise that they screwed up, that they signed a deal with us, we had a ceasefire, we had energy prices that had come down and we had the possibility … that if the Iranians behaved, they would get a lot out of a better relationship with the United States.
“But what happened? They didn’t behave. They started shooting at commercial shipping,” he adds.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain unchnaged, according to the ISNA news agency.
“The mediators will present the ideas that have been put forward to the American side. After that, the American side’s final response will be conveyed to us. I hope this process will be completed by tomorrow morning,” he is quoted as saying.
The IRGC spokesperson says that Iran will bring “new weapons” to the battlefield as well if the confrontations with the US “take on a different form”.
“The enemies certainly have other scenarios as well; we are not unaware of those scenarios and have prepared ourselves,” he said in a press conference, according to Fars news agency.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) has reported that a vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening.
“UKMTO has received a third-party report of a vessel struck by a suspected unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire,” it said, adding that the fire has been extinguished and the crew are safe.
It advised vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.