No talks are taking place with Iran and none are scheduled, says Trump

Washington (Web Desk/Agencies): US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was not engaged in any talks with Iran and that no negotiations had been scheduled, while insisting that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz remained open.

Tehran, however, maintained that the key shipping route would stay closed until the United States met the conditions agreed under an interim understanding reached in June.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said there were no ongoing or planned discussions with Iran. He also said the US naval blockade was still fully operational and claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was open for shipping, adding that all underwater mines had either been cleared or detonated.

Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf offered a sharply different account. In remarks carried by Iranian state media on Tuesday, he said Tehran would not reopen the waterway until Washington fulfilled the commitments outlined in the June interim agreement.

Qalibaf told parliament that Iran was demanding the removal of the US blockade on its ports, an end to oil-related sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad and a halt to American threats and military actions against Iran on all fronts.

The Iranian position came a day after Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and special envoy, expressed optimism about diplomatic contacts between the two sides. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kushner said he could not disclose details but described communication between the US administration and different parts of the Iranian government as exceptionally active and extensive.

Despite those comments, hopes for formal negotiations and the restoration of regular tanker traffic through the vital waterway have stalled. The impasse has raised concerns that the conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, could continue for longer.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran intended to adopt a “fully offensive” military posture after diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a lasting end to the war with Washington failed to make progress.

Trump, meanwhile, said on Monday that the United States was not interested in extending the interim agreement reached in June, further diminishing expectations of an immediate diplomatic breakthrough.