Iran has denied holding talks with the US after President Donald Trump said he had cancelled plans to launch a major military attack on the country to give negotiations a chance.
"We are not currently negotiating with the US," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said today after Trump's assertion that there had been contact between the two sides and that talks would begin today.
Trump's claims led to a sharp fall in oil prices. Front month Ice Brent futures were trending at $83.71/bl at 11:24 BST, down by $4.22/bl compared with the previous close.
Baghaie said that Iran was currently holding bilateral negotiations with Oman to determine a safe shipping route through the strait of Hormuz. But he said these discussions themselves would not lead to a reopening of the strait.
Oil and gas exports through the strait have plummeted since the start of the US-Iran war on 28 February. The interim peace deal between the two sides in mid-June — which saw transits through the waterway briefly rise — collapsed in early July due to disagreements over control of the strait.
This sparked weeks of military attacks between the US and Iran, during which Iran and its proxies have launched drone and missile attacks on oil infrastructure in neighbouring countries.
Baghaie tied any reopening of the strait of Hormuz to the end of "US violations" of the interim deal. "As long as all the things that America has violated during this period continue, there will be no significant change in the situation in the strait of Hormuz," he said.
