We Are Not Negotiating With the United States at the Moment

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Monday that no negotiations are underway with the United States, directly contradicting President Donald Trump's claim that talks would resume that afternoon. "We are not negotiating with the United States at the moment. We are negotiating with Oman to secure a passage through the Strait of Hormuz, spokesman Ismaïl Baghaï told his weekly press conference.

Trump had said Sunday that Washington was engaging with Tehran "in the form of a negotiation, a day after he called off planned American strikes on Iran. In a Saturday night message, the president said the U.S. was ready to launch operations "with a level of military terror, force and power unprecedented since World War II, but that "Iran and other Middle Eastern countries have just asked us to suspend any attack, the outlines of an agreement having been agreed upon. That would include the "IMMEDIATE, COMPLETE AND TOTAL OPENING OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, as well as the end of the Iranian nuclear threat.

He added: "The State of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everyone, and DO IT! The reversal followed a week of military escalation that spread the conflict to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, with Iran and its proxies attacking American bases and strategic oil facilities in the Gulf.

On Friday, the U.S. signaled it was preparing a massive response, and Trump convened his cabinet for a war council at Camp David before announcing large-scale retaliatory strikes. Separately, two men were executed Monday in Iran after being convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. "Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were hanged this morning (Monday) for transmitting coordinates of sensitive military and security sites to Mossad agents, Mizan said.

The agency gave no details on their arrest or trial dates but said they were convicted of "espionage and collaboration with the Zionist regime. According to state television, the men were sentenced for espionage during the current war, triggered by a U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran on February 28, and during the previous one in June 2025, which lasted 12 days.