ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump on Monday night denied a report that his administration had offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for concessions on its nuclear program, as Tehran and Washington continued indirect talks through Qatari mediators. Axios, citing US officials, reported that Trump was willing to provide sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in return for concrete steps from Tehran to curb its nuclear program. “This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that Axios should withdraw the report. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also rejected the report, calling it propaganda. Speaking to Iranian state media after meeting Qatari mediators in New York on Monday, he said there was “absolutely no truth” to reports that Washington had offered sanctions relief. “There is absolutely no truth to that; I categorically deny it." “There are conditions, which the Supreme Leader emphasized, that must be met for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened,” Araghchi said, adding that Iran had put forward what it considered a “fair and logical” path to a peaceful agreement. Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a message on Monday that Tehran remained determined to maintain its position over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces moved to close the strategic waterway through attacks on commercial shipping shortly after the US-Israel war against Iran began in March. The statement published by Khamenei’s office said different sections of Iranian society remained firm on key positions, including “preserving the blessed Strait of Hormuz.” “Our conditions are entirely fair and logical; if the Americans claim to be seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have put forward that very solution,” Araghchi added. Araghchi, who left New York for Tehran on Tuesday morning said Tehran hoped to receive Washington's formal response to its proposal by Tuesday. The discussions with Qatari mediators focused on ways to meet Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. Trump confirmed Monday that US officials had spoken with mediators but did not provide details of the discussions. “We're going to win. As far as I'm concerned, it's going to be one way or the other. It's going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The latest diplomatic effort follows Iran's seven-day proposal presented last week during the UN General Assembly. Tehran said the plan would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to negotiations over its nuclear program if Washington met a series of conditions, including lifting its blockade and sanctions on Iranian oil exports and releasing frozen Iranian assets. Trump told Rudaw on Saturday that he had rejected the Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. “I reject their proposal. They made a proposal, but I rejected it,” Trump told Rudaw's Diyar Kurda. Araghchi said Saturday that Iran had not yet received a formal response through the mediators, despite Trump's public rejection. The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the negotiations. Before the current conflict, roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the waterway.
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