Trump says Iran has asked to meet, but officials say nothing is planned – nationally
President Donald Trump said on Monday on social media that Iran had requested a meeting with its American counterpart, although Iranian officials said no such meeting was planned.
The US president has tried to maintain a temporary agreement that appears fragile as tensions have escalated in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, which could cause oil prices to rise and undermine Trump’s claims to voters that inflation in America is slowing.
Trump said the meeting with Iran will take place on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s president said US$6 billion of frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar, as talks with the United States were challenged by attacks in the Persian Gulf this weekend.
Masoud Pezeshkian’s talk of these funds appeared to be aimed at selling the Iranian community to a temporary agreement, especially since its hold on the Strait of Hormuz has been tested by efforts to open the waters of Oman’s territories to incoming and outgoing traffic from the Persian Gulf.
The attack and threats from Iran have stopped cargo and tanker ships from sailing through the port, where about a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded pass through in peacetime, triggering a global energy crisis.
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The port has long been considered an international waterway despite being in Iranian territory and Omani waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked ships passing through the Strait near the Omani side, drawing retaliatory US airstrikes and concerns that talks to end the war could be disrupted. Iran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday.
Pezeshkian says that 6 billion dollars are coming to Iran
Pezeshkian praised the interim deal in comments published Monday by the state-run IRNA news agency, calling it “a great victory for the Iranian people.”
“Based on the plans made, 6 billion dollars of the total 12 billion dollars in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and the necessary follow-up is being done,” he said. He did not elaborate.
Pezeshkian, a reformist within Iran’s theocracy, is the top official inside Iran to refer to the release of funds held by Qatar, a key mediator with Pakistan in the talks. So far, US officials say no frozen Iranian goods have been released. Qatar has also denied any such transfer and Iran attacked a tanker full of Qatari crude oil this weekend during a flare-up in the Persian Gulf.
Confusion is mounting over the next round of Iran-US talks
Pakistan, a key negotiator, said talks would resume on Tuesday. The Trump administration on Sunday said nothing had been canceled and technical talks were on track in the coming days.
But Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s chief negotiator, denied that any talks were planned, in comments published by IRNA.
“Although consultations with Qatar, including following up on the implementation of the other side’s commitments, are continuing as usual, some media reports about the technical discussions of the working groups held in Doha have not been confirmed,” he said.
The technical talks involve low-level diplomats working out the details of any deal that would bring top Iranian and US leaders to the table.
–Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
