Trump rejects reports of sanctions relief and release of Iranian funds: “I made no offer to Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected a report published by Axios claiming that Washington was considering lifting sanctions on Iran and unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad in exchange for concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program.

The American leader said he had “offered Iran nothing,” as diplomatic efforts to increase contacts continue without a clear outcome. He made the comments on his social media platform, Truth Social, and called for the report to be taken down immediately.

“Axios just published a story claiming that ‘Trump’ offered sanctions relief and the release of Iranian funds. This is not true. I offered them nothing!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The Axios article, citing U.S. government sources, reported that the United States could make concessions in exchange for Iran’s commitments on its nuclear program.

Delegations from both the United States and Iran resumed discussions last week during the U.N. General Assembly, but the outcome of the meetings has not yet been made public.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Monday that no further meeting was planned.

Trump had left open the possibility of resuming negotiations, but had previously rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week.

The strategic shipping passage has now become a central point of tension between the two countries.

Before the conflict began, around 20% of the hydrocarbons consumed worldwide passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

The crisis erupted on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran. Since then, the Islamic Republic has sought to maintain control of the waterway, while the American side has responded to its effective closure, including by blockading Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf.

Dialogue between Tehran and Washington had been suspended after the collapse of the preliminary agreement known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed in June by the two countries’ presidents, Donald Trump and Massoud Peskov.

The latest effort to restore contacts is taking place amid particularly high tensions, while the main issues affecting relations remain Iran’s nuclear program, the sanctions regime, and control of the Strait of Hormuz.