Iran is defending its borders but does not seek to expand the war, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media quoted by BTA.
While US President Donald Trump said yesterday that talks with Iran were underway, Tehran denied that such were planned in any form.
Yesterday, Trump warned that Iran would be "beheaded" if it did not reach an agreement to end the conflict between the two countries and added that Tehran had one last chance to make a deal, Reuters notes.
Previously, after Iran said that no talks are taking place, Trump sharply criticized the "incredibly hypocritical" leadership of Iran.
In response to a reporter's question about the state of the talks, the US president said that "they are taking place right now", adding that the two countries are talking at the request of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among others. "This is their last chance to sign a good document", he said, referring to Iran.
President Donald Trump has already reacted sharply after Iran denied that it was negotiating with the US and in an angry post on social media said that Washington's military blockade would continue until there was "an agreement or total surrender", Agence France-Presse reported.
Calling Iran "duplicitous" for "openly and arrogantly" Saying he was not negotiating, Trump also wrote: "Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are actually discussing a solution to a problem they have been causing for decades".
Trump posted his statement on Truth Social after Iran said earlier today that there were no direct talks with Washington, even though Trump insisted there would be when he called off a series of massive bombings against Iran that he had threatened to launch over the weekend. The US president said the cancellation was at the request of his regional allies and Tehran.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said today that the only talks it was holding were with Oman over plans to share control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global energy trade.
Trump insisted that Iran had asked for talks – "and some would say "begged" for new negotiations" – but now he starts with "his usual empty talk" about control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The American leader said that the strait "is now completely under the control of the US Navy and our (Washington's) "blockade" or, as some call it, the US Steel Wall! Nothing passes to Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless there is a deal or a complete surrender."
Trump, along with Israel, launched a war against Iran on February 28, AFP recalls.
Its initial goals included destroying the country's nuclear industry, its missiles and supporting a popular uprising against the government.
More than five months later, Iran is still able to launch missiles and drones against US and allied targets in the region and maintains its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Despite pressure from the US, Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have severely affected global energy trade, giving Tehran a strong trump card in the conflict.