Published 28 September 2026, 07:34 GMT
Last updated 3 minutes ago
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US President Donald Trump denied that he had made an offer to ease sanctions on Iran and release frozen funds in exchange for Tehran's nuclear concessions, saying, "I did not offer them anything at all."
This comes after Axios published a report stating, through American officials, that Trump is ready to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for concrete Iranian steps regarding the nuclear program.
Trump wrote on the “Truth Social” platform on Monday evening, that the American website “Axios” published a report “alleging that I offered Iran relief from sanctions and the release of frozen funds. This is not true.”
He added that the Axios report, "like most other reports, is pure fabrication, and is only being used to satisfy their pathological obsession with anti-me (or what is known as Trump madness syndrome)," stressing the need to "retract" this "fake" story immediately.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday evening that Iran had discussed with Qatari mediators ideas that would be presented to the United States.
Araqchi expressed his hope to receive Washington's final response through Doha, on Tuesday, in light of new efforts to end the war, explaining that the Qatari and Pakistani mediation channels had acquired a more serious character after Iran presented its plan, in reference to its latest proposals for a ceasefire and its conditions for resuming maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking from New York, Araqchi said that Iran also informed the United States and the international community of the conditions set by the Supreme Leader for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, without going into details.
He added: "If the Americans claim that they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, then we have provided that solution."
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Araqchi is still in New York after participating in the General Assembly meetings, and it was not immediately clear who will represent the American side in the talks with the mediators.
Reuters previously reported, citing an informed official, that Qatari mediators are expected to hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York, and separately with the American side, during the next two days, in a new effort to end the war.
The official, who requested anonymity, said the talks are expected to focus on a modified version of a seven-day proposal Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) had confirmed that Araqchi would meet mediators in the United States on Monday morning, New York time.
The agency added that the two sides will discuss the latest proposals and views on the current situation.
Iran's seven-day plan stipulates ending all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, ending sanctions imposed on Iranian oil, and lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports.
After that, Tehran will allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, and the two sides will resume talks on the Iranian nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he rejected the Iranian proposal, adding that Tehran was seeking a quick agreement because of the severe economic pressures it faces.
But he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to participate in additional talks this week.
Araqchi said on Sunday that the mediators were not officially transferred to Tehran due to American rejection, and that Iran is waiting for Washington’s final position before determining its next steps.
He added: Our conditions are clear, and any step towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on meeting these conditions, indicating that only a negotiated solution is capable of ending the stalemate.
Araqchi had previously said that "Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian did not come to New York to promote war, but to make peace."
He stressed in a post on his account on the “X” platform that his country is “steadfast in the face of any aggression, even if it leads to a devastating, all-out war.”
He added: "At the same time, we are ready for real diplomacy."
These statements came after his appearance on the "Meet the Press" program on the American network "NBC", days after a speech delivered by President Pezeshkian before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Araqchi told the American news program that Iran is fully prepared for the possibility of war with the United States, but is seeking through diplomacy to avoid that.
Iran also filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Iranian aviation sector led to the cancellation of several flights from Tehran, according to what the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
"You will win very soon."
Earlier, the US President told reporters that US officials spoke, on Monday, with mediators trying to end Washington's war with Iran, adding that the United States "will win the war with Iran very soon."
“We will win,” Trump said in the Oval Office, “and as far as I'm concerned, it's going to end one way or another, and it's going to happen pretty quickly.”
Trump added that fuel prices will fall sharply after the United States wins the war.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday: “I think what will happen is that we will win this war very soon, and once victory is achieved, oil prices will fall sharply back to pre-war levels.”
He added: "The essential point is that Iran will not possess nuclear weapons; this is the essence of the matter."
The US President has repeatedly claimed to have achieved a decisive military victory over Iran or to control and open the Strait of Hormuz.
However, information derived from databases tracking shipping movement around the world shows a marked variation in the movement of commercial ships and oil tankers in the Gulf between the periods before and after the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Reports from American intelligence and military sources that talk about the “destruction” of Iranian military power since the start of the American attacks do not exactly match what Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Some of these sources estimated that “up to 50 percent of Iran’s missile and drone capabilities are still intact.”
Khamenei: “They no longer advance beyond the Arabian Sea”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a letter attributed to him published on Monday that a day will come when American forces will be forced to “leave the Arabian Sea after the painful blows” they received from Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since his appointment to succeed his father Ali after his death at the beginning of the war, said, "The sea in southern Iran was an arena in which enemy forces roamed, but today, because of the painful blows they received from the brave mujahideen and the protectors of the Strait of Hormuz, they are no longer advancing beyond the Arabian Sea."
He added in the message that was published on his official website, and came on the anniversary of the war with Iraq (1980-1988), “Whenever they take risks and do so, they harm themselves, and soon the day will come when the Arabian Sea will be devoid of them as well.”
The sea extends in the northern Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and the coasts of India, and connects to the Strait of Hormuz, and subsequently to the coasts of Iran, through the Gulf of Oman.
“Iran succeeds for the first time in detonating a projectile over an American ship.”
In a separate context, the American network NBC quoted three American government officials as saying that eight Marines were injured in an Iranian missile attack that targeted a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Eight American soldiers were injured
The eight Marines, seven soldiers and one officer, were working as part of an infantry battalion combat team.
Their injuries ranged from smoke inhalation to possible traumatic brain injury; Some of them experienced symptoms associated with a concussion, including headaches.
None of the eight Marines' injuries were serious, and they all returned to duty shortly after the accident.
It appears that the US Department of Defense did not announce the attack when it occurred on September 14, and US Central Command (CENTCOM) refused to comment when asked about the incident.
