President Trump denied offering Iran sanctions relief for nuclear concessions. Iran says indirect talks continue through Qatari mediators.
President Donald Trump denied Monday that his administration offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for concessions on its nuclear program, rejecting reports from Axios and CNN that cited unnamed U.S. officials. “This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the Axios report a hoax and demanding it be withdrawn.
The Axios report said Trump was willing to ease sanctions and unfreeze Iranian funds if Tehran took concrete steps on its nuclear program, as mediators from Qatar and Pakistan worked toward a deal between Washington and Tehran. CNN separately reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official, a similar willingness to offer sanctions relief as part of a final agreement conditioned on nuclear progress from Iran. A U.S. official also told the Jerusalem Post that Trump was willing to make concessions to Tehran and that indirect negotiations had remained positive and constructive, though no deal would be reached unless Iran’s nuclear program was addressed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iranian representatives met with Qatari mediators in New York and developed ideas to raise with U.S. officials, with Washington’s formal response expected by Tuesday. The exchange follows Trump’s rejection Saturday of an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pause hostilities, and comes as the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, which began Feb. 28, reached its seventh month. Trump has said preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a central U.S. objective. Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons, denies seeking them and says it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Sources: This report is based on information from Reuters, Axios, CNN, The Jerusalem Post and The Hill.