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United States President Donald Trump has denied a report by Axios that he offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concessions on its nuclear programme.
Trump rejected the report in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, saying he had made no such offer and describing the Axios report as false.
“Axios just released a story that ‘Trump’ offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Axios, citing unnamed US officials, had reported that Trump was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets in return for concrete steps from Tehran on its nuclear activities.
Trump called the report a hoax and demanded that the news outlet retract it.
The dispute comes as efforts to revive US-Iran diplomacy continue following weeks of war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to meet Qatari mediators in New York on Monday, after US and Iranian officials held talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly the previous week.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Monday that Tehran had no further direct talks with Washington scheduled.
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Trump had publicly rejected an Iranian proposal on Saturday concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but told Axios on Sunday that he expected negotiations with Tehran to resume in the coming days.
The strategic Strait of Hormuz remains central to the conflict. The narrow waterway normally carries about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments and has been effectively blocked by Iran since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28.
The disruption has contributed to sharp increases in gas and other prices in the United States as Trump faces declining popularity in national polls and concerns within his Republican Party over the November midterm elections.
