President Donald Trump said the United States is conducting negotiations with Iran, whether Tehran admits it or not, according to a report by ynet. The comments come minutes after Iran denied any current talks, adding to weeks of contradictory signals.
President Donald Trump doubled down on the existence of ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations Monday evening, responding to Tehran's denials by stating that talks are taking place whether Iran admits it or not. The remarks, reported by ynet, come just minutes after The Zioneer reported that Iran's foreign ministry had denied any current negotiations following Trump's earlier announcement that new talks would begin Monday. The president's latest comment directly addresses that denial, asserting that the diplomatic channel is active regardless of Iran's public stance.
The conflicting signals follow a rapid sequence of statements from Washington and Tehran over the past 18 hours. In a series of reports beginning at 00:46 Jerusalem, The Zioneer documented Trump's initial claim that talks would resume Monday afternoon, his assertion that an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz had been reached, and his subsequent confirmation that new talks would begin Monday while he paused strikes. Iran's foreign ministry responded by denying any current negotiations, insisting that any discussions would be conducted only through mediators. The pattern of contradiction escalated as Trump continued to assert progress.
This latest back-and-forth is part of weeks of jarring signals that The Zioneer has been tracking. On June 23, Trump stated that Iran was "destroyed" and that a deal was being made; on June 24, the U.S. announced understandings with Iran while Tehran denied any agreement. On July 15, Trump claimed his representatives held contacts with Iran the same day, and on July 27, he warned in an interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid that failure to reach a deal would lead to "massive military action." On June 23, Trump also warned that he would "do what I must" if Iran did not respect the U.S.
The exact status of U.S.-Iran negotiations remains unclear. Iran has consistently denied direct talks, and no independent confirmation of the diplomatic channel has emerged from Iranian officials. The conflicting signals between the two sides show no sign of resolution.
10 developments
- DevelopingTrump, angered, says Iran is 'stalling' nuclear deal, threatens immediate attack
- DevelopingTrump: US strikes on Iran will continue until I say otherwise
- StrongTrump warns Iran: 'If there is no deal, I will finish the job'
- DevelopingTrump tells NYT he will 'renew military attacks' on Iran if nuclear talks falter
Source and signal
- Open-source intake