President Donald Trump accused Iran of a "hypocritical" attitude on Monday and threatened to maintain the United States naval blockade on Iran's coast until Tehran reaches an agreement or surrenders completely.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, according to the Spanish news agency EFE, that Iran's leadership was acting in an incredibly hypocritical way. He said Iranian officials had requested a meeting, with some even begging for one, that talks had begun and further sessions were scheduled for the immediate future, yet Iran publicly and proudly declared that nothing was being negotiated, that nothing was under discussion, and that it was only dealing with Oman.
Trump warned that Tehran was again resorting to its usual rhetoric by claiming it would control the Strait of Hormuz with a firm hand, when in reality the strait was already under the absolute control of the US Navy.
He said nothing reaches Iran unless the United States allows it, and nothing will happen unless an agreement is reached or a total surrender takes place. Trump added that whether or not Iran wanted to admit it, the talks concerned a solution to a problem Iran itself had caused over decades. He also repeated his promise that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
Stalled peace talks set to resume
Trump announced the day before that Washington and Tehran would restart peace negotiations that had remained stalled amid a recent escalation in the war, which has now lasted five months without clear signs of an agreement meeting both sides' terms.
According to Trump, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar asked him to suspend military incursions given the possibility of reaching a pact with Iran. He also said Iran itself asked him to halt a planned attack, which he described as the biggest since World War II.
Iran denies active negotiations
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bagaei said Monday that the Islamic Republic was not currently holding negotiations with the United States. Bagaei said matters related to Washington would be analyzed and decided based on future developments.
Bagaei said Iran was, for now, holding talks with Oman focused on reaching an agreement on a route guaranteeing safe passage for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's crude oil passed before the conflict.
Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to end the war and open a two-month peace process, but cross attacks resumed afterward. That led Tehran to declare the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed and prompted Trump to reimpose the naval blockade on Iran's coast.
