Middle East

The Guardian - Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Monday that Iran is not currently holding any talks with the US, Reuters reports – contradicting claims made by Donald Trump on Sunday night that talks with Iran would happen the next day.

Baghaei said that there were no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one, and that Iran’s current focus was on negotiations with Oman over the strait of Hormuz.

“We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said in an interview with Iranian state television.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, including a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not?’” Trump said. “They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.”