US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Washington and Tehran were currently engaged in talks, pushing back on Iranian claims to the contrary and accusing the Islamic Republic of being “unbelievably duplicitous.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at Iran and insisted that negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz had already begun and that more were scheduled imminently.

“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous! They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg.’ Talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with Oman,” Trump wrote.

“They then go on to give their usual blather in saying, the Strait of Hormuz will be operated powerfully by them, when it is already completely controlled by the United States Navy and our blockade,” the US president asserted.

“Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through unless a deal or total surrender is accomplished,” Trump added. “Whether Iran wants to admit it or not we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades,” he continued. “It is very simple, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”

However, the CBS News site reported Monday, citing unnamed US officials, that no “new” talks were planned beyond the ongoing indirect talks between American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and the Iranian team.

Earlier Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that Tehran is “not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Speaking to........

© The Times of Israel