US President Donald Trump has denied reports that his administration offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concessions on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Trump made the denial on Monday after Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Washington was willing to provide economic relief if Iran took what the officials described as concrete steps on its nuclear activities.
“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
CNN separately reported, also citing an unnamed US official, that the administration was prepared to consider sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a potential agreement, provided Iran made concrete progress on nuclear issues.
The reports came as US and Iranian officials engaged separately with mediators in renewed efforts to find a way to end the conflict between the two countries. The talks are taking place after months of fighting and amid continued disagreements over Iran’s nuclear programme and US sanctions.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear activities are intended for peaceful purposes and says it has rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to develop civilian nuclear technology. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
Washington, meanwhile, has identified limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of its objectives. The two sides remain divided over the conditions and sequence of any potential agreement.
The dispute also comes against the backdrop of negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway for global energy shipments. Iran has previously linked reopening the strait to demands including the lifting of the US naval blockade, sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds.
For now, Trump’s public position is that no offer of sanctions relief or frozen funds was made in exchange for nuclear concessions. The competing accounts highlight the uncertainty surrounding the indirect negotiations, with no final agreement publicly announced.