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Iran denies US 'talks' claim, says Trump has backed down on Hormuz Strait threat
Iran's Fars news agency, citing an unnamed source, said “there are no direct or indirect communications” with the United States.
After President Donald Trump on Monday said the US and Iran have held “productive” talks over the past two days to end the ongoing war, the Iranian foreign ministry denied ay such talks took place.
The Iranian state media also said the country has not held any such talks, while the country's embassy in Kabul posted a caustic response titled “Trump's Retreat After Iran's Firm Warning”.
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"After the Islamic Republic threatened that in the event of any US attack on Iran's energy infrastructure, it would target the energy infrastructure of the entire region, Trump backed down and stated that he had issued an order to postpone the attack,” read a post on the X handle of Iran's Afghanistan diplomatic mission on Monday.
This post did not deny Trump's dramatic statement that talks were being held for two days now. But Iran's Fars news agency, citing an unnamed source, said “there are no direct or indirect communications” with the United States.
Fars also said Trump “backed down” on targeting Iranian power plants after Iran warned it would target power plants across West Asia in response.
Iranian state television also offered Tehran's reaction to Trump's decision to extend his threat deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz by five days. It flashed a graphic on screen: “US president backs down following Iran's firm warning.”
The US President, in his Truth Social post, said that based on the “tenor” and “tone” of the talks, he instructed his Department of War to “postpone” any attack on the power plants and energy infrastructure of Iran for five days.
He described discussions he claimed were held as “very good and productive”, without giving out much detail. He also claimed the two sides talked about “a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East”.
Trump on Friday had expressed willingness to engage in talks with Tehran, but with a signature contradictory bit added to it.
“Nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore. We’re having a hard time. We want to talk to them, and there’s nobody to talk to… And you know what? We like it that way,” he said last week.
