Iran denies holding talks with US as Donald Trump touts imminent deal

Iran on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations with Washington were underway, insisting it was holding only bilateral talks with Oman over a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz as regional diplomacy gathered pace.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had no plans to send or receive delegations from the United States, contradicting Trump's claim that negotiations would begin on Monday following his decision to halt a planned military strike on Iran.

"So long as the United States continues to violate its commitments, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not change," Baghaei told his weekly press conference.

Instead, he said Iran was engaged in "serious" talks with Oman to establish a temporary navigation route through the strategic waterway that would ensure maritime safety.

The negotiations are aimed at agreeing on a single temporary route for inbound and outbound shipping, with Tehran seeking to finalise the arrangement in coordination with Muscat "at the earliest opportunity", Baghaei said.

He stressed that the discussions were strictly bilateral between the two states bordering the strait, although other countries could play either a "constructive or obstructive" role. Pakistan continues to mediate issues related to Iran and the United States, while Qatar provides assistance "when necessary", he added, dismissing speculation that China had joined the mediation effort.

Baghaei said reaching an understanding on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz was "a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one" for reopening the waterway.

He argued the strait had not been disrupted because of differences between Iran and Oman, but as a consequence of what he described as the US and Israel's military aggression against Iran that began on 28 February.

The remarks marked Tehran's clearest rejection yet of Trump's comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday, in which the US president claimed a deal over the Strait of Hormuz was imminent and said indirect negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday after he suspended what he described as a "massive attack" at the request of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran.

Trump also said the talks would ultimately seek the "denuclearisation of Iran", although he provided no details about who would participate or where they would be held.

The conflicting accounts underscore the gap between Washington and Tehran over the state of diplomacy after weeks of escalating military confrontation. While both sides have signalled support for easing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials have consistently maintained that negotiations with Oman are separate from any future engagement with Washington.

Regional mediation efforts have intensified in recent days, with Gulf states pushing to avert a broader conflict after Trump threatened to launch what he said would have been the largest US attack since the Second World War before abruptly calling it off.

Markets responded positively to the prospect of diplomacy, with oil prices falling sharply on Monday on hopes that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could eventually resume.

Despite the renewed diplomatic activity, Baghaei warned that Iran remained on a wartime footing.

"We were never given a choice between war and peace. The United States did not attack us in pursuit of peace," he said, adding that any escalation triggered by Washington could spread beyond Iran, for which "the United States bears sole responsibility."