Iran's leaders on Monday pushed back against President Donald Trump's claims that Tehran and Washington are negotiating a deal to end hostilities in Iran and the Mideast Gulf.
"No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a social media post.
Ghalibaf's comments followed wide-ranging remarks and social media posts from Trump, in which the US leader suggested that the US and Iran had held preliminary peace talks and that a deal could be reached in the next five days.
Trump on 21 March threatened to target Iran's power plants unless Tehran reopens the strait of Hormuz. Trump on Monday said he would refrain from ordering such strikes for five days, citing "very strong" talks with unidentified officials who "seem to be running" Iran. Trump did not say he is pausing the ongoing US military campaign against Iran.
Israel's Defense Force on Monday reported carrying out strikes on Iranian command, intelligence and missile production facilities. The Pentagon typically provides a tally of daily strikes in an evening update.
Several countries in the region have reached out to Tehran to sound out the possibility of diplomatic talks, Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday. "Necessary warnings were given about the dire consequences of any attack on Iran's vital infrastructure, and it was emphasized that any action against Iran's energy infrastructure will be met with a decisive, immediate, and effective response from the Iranian armed forces," the ministry said.
