Iran Rejects US Talks as Trump’s Mixed Signals Deepen Hormuz Standoff

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump

Iran Rejects US Talks as Trump’s Mixed Signals Deepen Hormuz Standoff

Iran’s top security official on Tuesday ruled out any negotiations with the United States, dismissing President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he was open to talks as “mixed signals” and insisting that Tehran’s conditions must be met before any dialogue can begin.

“Don’t get distracted by the U.S. president’s mixed signals — from ‘no negotiations’ to ‘we’re ready to talk’,” Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X. “The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won’t stop what’s coming. No talks until Iran’s conditions are met. Period!”

Trump said on Monday that he was open to holding talks with Iran, after weeks of saying it was too early to make a deal to end the Middle East war. “The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage — The concept of which we are open to,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. The statement marked a sharp reversal from Trump’s remarks just days earlier. On September 9, he told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base that the US was “not looking for” negotiations with Iran. “Originally, I wanted to make a deal. We’re so far down the line; they have very little country left right now. So we’re not looking for it,” he said at the time.

Tehran has repeatedly listed demands as preconditions for ending the war and its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. According to Iranian officials, these include a definitive end to the war and all aggression against Iran and its regional allies, lifting the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports, full compensation for war damages, removal of sanctions against Iran’s economy, and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets abroad. Rezaei’s rejection came as Tehran and Muscat postponed talks between Iran and Gulf Arab states that had been scheduled for Monday. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that the postponement was made “at the request of some countries in the region and was a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat”.

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The diplomatic standoff unfolds against a backdrop of continuing violence in the Strait of Hormuz. On Sunday, an attack on an Iranian commercial cargo vessel killed one person and wounded four others, according to Iranian state media. The same weekend, an attack on the commercial vessel MT El Gaia left one Indian crew member missing and 13 rescued. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported multiple incidents involving merchant vessels in the strategic waterway, advising mariners to “consider the latest maritime security information and maintain awareness of the evolving operational environment”. Oman, which has emerged as a key mediator in the conflict, saw its Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announce the postponement of the Gulf talks “in the interests of consensus.” “We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he said on X.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a central point of contention. Before the war began in late February, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies were shipped through the waterway. Traffic has since plummeted amid continued security risks. Brent crude futures jumped more than 2 per cent on Tuesday, trading above $107 per barrel as the diplomatic impasse deepened. Trump has pushed to restore shipping through the strait to pre-war levels to bring down energy prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. But Tehran has shown no sign of relinquishing what it regards as a key source of strategic leverage.

The latest exchange fits a broader pattern of conflicting signals from Washington. In June, the United States and Iran signed a framework agreement that included provisions for a $300 billion private investment fund to rebuild Iran’s economy. Negotiations were scheduled to conclude within 60 days, but the process stalled amid renewed hostilities. Iranian officials have repeatedly dismissed contradictory statements from Washington as political messaging rather than evidence of a genuine diplomatic opening. Tehran has stressed that any future diplomatic process would require concrete guarantees rather than verbal commitments, arguing that previous US reversals have undermined trust.