US President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that talks with Iran are ongoing, despite Iran’s earlier announcement that it had stopped the talks.
“Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian media reported that the Islamic Republic had suspended indirect negotiations with the United States, citing Israel's expanding military operations in Lebanon.
The Tasnim news agency reported that the Iranian negotiating team would halt "talks and the exchange of texts through mediators," a move that complicates ongoing efforts to reach a broader agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Trump later told NBC News that his administration had not been notified in advance of Iran's decision.
"It's an appropriate thing to say, because they're better negotiators than they are fighters," Trump said. "But they haven't informed us of that."
Trump added that the suspension would not automatically lead to further military action by the United States.
"It doesn't mean we're going to go and start dropping bombs all over there," he told NBC News. "We'll keep the blockade."
On Sunday, Tasnim reported that Tehran is preparing to submit a fresh round of modifications to a preliminary agreement with Washington following Trump’s demand for stricter conditions in the text.
The Iranian report followed an Axios report which said that Trump has requested several targeted modifications to the preliminary diplomatic accord hammered out by American and Iranian negotiators.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News, which aired on Saturday night, that the US will get what it wants from Iran.
The President added that he is in no hurry to reach a deal with Iran and once again stressed that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.