Iran denies plans for US talks despite Trump's negotiation claims
Iranian state media said its delegation at the UN General Assembly has no negotiations planned with the United States, contradicting President Trump's expectation that talks would resume. The dispute centers on reopening the strait of Hormuz.
Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that its delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York has no negotiations planned with the United States, despite President Donald Trump saying he expected talks to resume soon.
Trump told Axios on Sunday that he anticipated renewed negotiations, a day after rejecting a Tehran proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within seven days. IRNA, citing a source close to the delegation, said Iran's positions had already been conveyed clearly to the US side through a Qatari mediator, and that the delegation would return to Tehran on Tuesday.
Iran says it has presented seven conditions for ending the war and reopening the strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which roughly 20% of the world's oil and gas flowed before the conflict began. The war started in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, after which Tehran restricted passage through the strait and Washington responded with a blockade of Iranian ports.
According to Axios, indirect talks mediated by Qatar could take place as soon as today, less than a week after similar discussions between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Iran is demanding a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah faces regular Israeli strikes. It is also seeking the unfreezing of its foreign assets, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade. Trump rejected these demands on Saturday.
In other developments, the Trump administration is set to release new fuel economy standards on Monday that would ease pollution-control requirements for gasoline-powered vehicles. The United States and China also released reciprocal lists on Monday of products worth about $30bn each that will see tariff cuts, following Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to Washington.
