President Donald Trump on Monday denied offering Iran sanctions relief or access to frozen funds after Axios cited U.S. officials who described him as willing to consider both for nuclear concessions.
“I offered them NOTHING!” Trump wrote Monday evening on Truth Social.
Trump called the report a “HOAX,” accused Axios of acting out of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and demanded that the outlet withdraw the story immediately.
Citing unidentified U.S. officials, Axios reported that Trump was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian funds in return for concrete Iranian steps on its nuclear program.
The article’s headline characterized the position as an offer, while its opening paragraph described Trump as willing to provide the economic relief under specified conditions. Axios later added Trump’s denial but left its central reporting in place.
The conflicting accounts leave unresolved whether the reported terms were formally presented to Iran or whether U.S. officials were describing measures the administration might accept in a final agreement. Axios did not identify its sources or cite a public document showing that Trump authorized an offer.
CNN also reported that a U.S. official described Trump as willing to provide sanctions relief and release frozen assets if Iran made concrete progress toward a nuclear agreement.
The Associated Press carried a similar account attributed to a U.S. official. Reuters subsequently reported the conflict between Trump’s denial and the accounts attributed to unidentified officials.
The central claim has not been independently established through an on-the-record official statement or publicly released proposal.
Renewed Indirect Talks
The reported U.S. position emerged as Qatari and Pakistani mediators renewed efforts to broker an agreement between the United States and Iran.
Iran wants the talks to address the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. naval blockade, while the Trump administration is demanding nuclear concessions, according to Axios.
Mediators met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York to discuss a Qatari proposal that had been under negotiation for several days. Qatari representatives were also expected to meet with Trump administration officials Monday or Tuesday.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the indirect discussions described them to Axios as “positive and constructive.” The official said Iran had indicated flexibility on nuclear matters but that significant differences remained.
“The sides still remain apart on the timing of the commitments and who takes which steps first,” the official said.
The same official said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz “continues to rise” and that the blockade and sanctions were weakening Iran’s position. The official also described the White House as skeptical of Iran’s promises and accused Tehran of violating the previous memorandum of understanding.
Those accusations were not independently confirmed in the supplied material.
Trump Rejected Earlier Proposal
The dispute followed Trump’s rejection Saturday of Iran’s latest proposal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Sunday interview with Axios, Trump said Iran wanted “to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make.” He also said he was “always thinking” about resuming strikes against Iran.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the administration rejected the proposal because Iran sought “everything up front,” including sanctions relief and access to frozen assets, according to The Hill.
Araghchi said Sunday that Trump faced a choice between diplomacy and continued war. Iran has sought the release of its frozen assets and relief from U.S. sanctions as part of an agreement.
Economic relief also appeared in an earlier negotiating framework. A U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding presented in June included sanctions waivers for Iranian oil sales during negotiations and provisions addressing frozen Iranian funds.
The current talks remain indirect, with mediators communicating separately with U.S. and Iranian officials. No final agreement has been announced.
