Iran on Monday denied that any negotiations were taking place with the United States, following comments from US President Donald Trump that talks on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz were set to resume Monday.

Over the weekend Trump repeated a pattern that has emerged throughout the past five months, in announcing plans for “massive attacks” on Iran, only to cancel them at the last minute. He said Sunday that a plan had been in place for US forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II,” but said he scrapped the plan to give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from Gulf leaders, as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.

“Would I rather make a deal? I’m not looking to kill people,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

“Now what we’re doing is talking to them, in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” Trump claimed, without providing further details or saying who would be involved in the talks.

But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Monday rejected the claim, saying no negotiations with the US were taking place and no meetings were scheduled.

Iran had no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the coming days, he said. Tehran has publicly rejected negotiations with Washington since a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict collapsed in early July.

Baghaei added Monday that all Iranian negotiators were currently in the country, apart from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was on a religious pilgrimage in Iraq.

“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said during a weekly press briefing. “We hope that both regional and extra-regional actors will appreciate this responsible move by Iran and adopt a constructive approach.”

He maintained Iran’s position that as long as a US naval blockade on Iranian ports continues, “the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will........

© The Times of Israel