Donald Trump’s war on Iran was thrown into confusion after he paused the US bombing campaign saying there had been constructive talks, only for Tehran to reject the claims as “fake news”.
Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social the US and Iran had engaged in “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities” over the past two days.
Conversations would continue throughout the week, he claimed, with military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure postponed for five days – an announcement that boosted financial markets and saw oil prices tumble.
But the Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry said no talks had taken place between Tehran and Washington and accused Mr Trump of trying to manipulate energy prices and buy more time for further military action. It did confirm that “initiatives” were in place to try to reduce tensions.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, added: “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.”
Asked about Iran’s denial, the president said before boarding Air Force One: “Well, they’re going to have to get themselves better public relations people. We’ve had very strong talks. Mr [Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner had them. They went perfectly.”
The Middle East has faced upheaval and chaos after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February.
Since then the US, Israel and Iran have been embroiled in near constant tit-for-tat strikes, with thousands of targets hit, several fuel facilities damaged or destroyed and oil prices surging after the Islamic Republic laid siege to the Strait of Hormuz.
While a spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer initially welcomed the talks, the prime minister later provided a more sobering take on the conflict, saying the UK will be preparing for hostilities to continue for much longer.
Asked by MPs at the powerful Commons Liaison Committee how long he expected the conflict to continue, he said: “It’s hard to answer that question, if I’m honest about it.
“All of our focus and energy has to be in the swift de-escalation, but we’ve got to plan on the basis that it could go on for some time, and that’s the way in which we’ll plan this afternoon.”
His appearance before the Liaison Committee – made up of the chairs of parliamentary select committees – came just hours after President Trump said he would “postpone” threatened strikes on Iran.
Sir Keir told MPs the UK had been “aware” of the talks and suggested it had come up in his conversation with the US president on Sunday evening.
But the prime minister reiterated his calls for “rapid de-escalation” of the conflict ahead of chairing an emergency Cobra committee of senior government ministers and officials to discuss a plan to deal with the impact on the cost of living if the conflict becomes protracted.
This follows fears over petrol rationing and food shortages if the Strait of Hormuz is closed down long term. Israel said on Monday the new goal of the war was for energy shipments to pass through the waterway, which is the passage for one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Israel and the US have previously demanded regime change and the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities, goals that Israel now say seem out of reach.
The switch to a more diplomatic tone followed a 48-hour ultimatum issued to Iran on Saturday in which Mr Trump warned “there will be the total destruction of Iran” if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened.
Iran had responded by warning it would lay mines across the waterway and target energy infrastructure across the region, raising fears that desalination plants would be hit.
Mr Trump suggested on Monday that the US could share “joint leadership” of the Strait of Hormuz with an unnamed Iranian leader.
He said recent talks indicated there would be a “very serious form of regime change” in Iran and that the shipping lane could be “jointly controlled”.
Asked by whom, the president said, “Maybe me. Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah is.
“There’s automatically a regime change, but we’re dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid,” he said. “The people within know who they are. They’re very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for.”
The US does not recognise the leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei, the second-oldest child of the slain ayatollah, who has not been seen in weeks, and officials have been communicating with “a top person” instead, the president added.
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