Tehran, however, has denied that negotiations are even being held with the United States.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has agreed to forgo nuclear weapons, reiterating his view that the United States has effectively already prevailed in the conflict.
“It starts with no nuclear weapons. And they’ve agreed to that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to ongoing discussions with Iranian officials. “They’re not gonna have enrichment, any of those things.”
Trump also stated that Iran’s new leadership had provided the United States with a “very significant prize” related to energy and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route.
“They gave us a present, and the present arrived today, and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,” he said, adding that Washington was engaging with “the right people” in Iran to secure a deal to end hostilities.
“It wasn’t nuclear, it was oil-and-gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did,” he added.
According to Trump, special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are involved in the negotiations with Iran.
Tehran, however, denied that any talks are taking place with Washington.
“No negotiations with America have taken place. Fake news is intended to manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped,” parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Wall Street’s major indexes were volatile on Tuesday as oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields rose, with investors reacting to the latest developments in the Middle East conflict, now in its fourth week. The fluctuations followed a relief rally a day earlier after Trump postponed strikes on Iranian power plants amid ongoing discussions.
Trump maintained that the United States remains in “about the best bargaining position” in the talks, asserting that Iran no longer has a Navy or Air Force and that “most of their missiles are gone.”
He also praised support from allies in the U.S.-Israel military campaign, specifically citing Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
A day earlier, the president announced that he had ordered a five-day delay on any military strikes against Iranian power facilities, just hours ahead of a deadline that had threatened further escalation.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE” discussions over the previous two days regarding a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
