A day after rejecting Iran's latest ceasefire proposal, President Donald Trump now says he expects talks between the U.S. and Iran to resume this week -- but Iran's foreign minister says, as of Saturday, nothing had actually been formally conveyed to Tehran.
Trump told Axios in a phone interview that he expects another round of indirect negotiations, possibly as early as Monday. A U.S. official and two regional sources told the outlet that Qatari mediators are continuing shuttle diplomacy between Washington and Tehran to try to reach a deal.
Trump's comments came a day after he turned down Iran's latest proposal, which offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks within seven days -- in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and reinstating a regional ceasefire. Iran's plan called for the first steps to take four to five days, the strait to reopen on day six, and nuclear talks to begin on day seven.
“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” Trump told Axios. “It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago.” He said Iran “overplayed their hand.”
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, described a very different picture of where things actually stand. Speaking on Iranian state television, Araghchi said Tehran is still waiting on what he called a “definitive” U.S. response, and that Trump's public rejection is the only reaction Iran has received so far -- not an actual message through diplomatic channels.
“We saw the first reaction from the U.S. president, but nothing has been conveyed to us from the mediators yet,” Araghchi said.
The gap between Trump's public optimism about talks resuming and Iran's account of what has actually been communicated through official channels remained unresolved as of Sunday. Neither side has announced a confirmed date, location, or agenda for a new round of talks. Trump also told Axios he was “always” considering the possibility of resuming military strikes against Iran.
The back-and-forth is the latest turn in monthslong, on-again-off-again negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear program and the broader regional conflict. IF Daily reported Saturday that Trump had rejected Iran's seven-day ceasefire offer and separately said he expected renewed military action after the U.S. midterms if no deal is reached.
