President Insists Negotiations Remain Active Despite Iranian Media Claims, as Regional Tensions and Military Operations Persist
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that reports claiming diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Iran have ended are “false and erroneous,” emphasizing that discussions between the two countries remain ongoing.
On Monday, Iranian state-run media reported that Tehran had withdrawn from negotiations aimed at ending an armed conflict that began in February, citing Israel’s recent military operations against the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah over the weekend.
“Fake News Reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the U.S.A., stopped speaking a few days ago are false and erroneous. The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president said the outcome of the discussions remains uncertain.
“One never knows” where the talks can lead, Trump said. “But as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer.’”
Trump did not disclose details regarding the substance of the ongoing negotiations.
Earlier, Fars and Tasnim, two semi-official Iranian news agencies, reported that Iran had halted communications with mediators regarding a possible extension of a ceasefire in the conflict involving the United States and Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not address the reported communication cutoff while testifying before Congress in Washington on June 2. Instead, he expressed cautious optimism regarding the nuclear aspects of the negotiations, while noting that there is no certainty that an acceptable agreement will be reached.
“They have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention,” Rubio said, adding that instability within Iran’s leadership has complicated the talks.
On Monday afternoon, Trump stated in a Truth Social post that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt hostilities after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with representatives of the Lebanese terrorist group.
In recent months, Iran has effectively restricted commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and contributing to rising prices worldwide. On Monday, the British military reported that a cargo vessel was struck by a projectile and suffered an explosion while transiting the strait near Iraq.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 213 launches from the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during Operation Epic Fury on March 15, 2026. (U.S. Navy)
The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Monday that it conducted strikes in Iran over the weekend near the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island, targeting air-defense systems, a ground-control station, and destroying two attack drones.
According to CENTCOM, the operations were carried out “in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.”
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian intelligence official warned Tuesday that Tehran could seek to disrupt traffic through another strategically important waterway near the Red Sea if Israeli military operations against Hezbollah continue.
