President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday evening to forcefully deny a report claiming he offered Iran financial relief as part of negotiations to end the war.
The president’s post came as he faces calls from within his own party to bring the war to an end as soon as possible. Despite that pressure, Trump on Friday rejected a deal pitched by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week, Trump also openly weighed whether or not to “annihilate” Iran.
On Monday, Trump had already been railing against what he called “FAKE NEWS” from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. He even imposed an unprecedented press ban on those outlets, which has since been temporarily halted.
Then the president turned his attention to Axios.
In a post shared in full, Trump wrote:
“Axios just released a story that ‘Trump’ offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING! Axios’ story, like most others, is a HOAX, used only for purposes of satisfying their Trump Derangement Syndrome. They should withdraw this fake story, IMMEDIATELY! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The report at the center of the president’s post was published Monday by Axios reporter Barak Ravid. Citing U.S. officials, the story said Trump is prepared to ease sanctions and unfreeze Iranian funds in exchange for concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program.
According to the report, one official described the talks as “positive and constructive” and said Iran “has indicated they are flexible on the nuclear issues.”
However, that same official stressed that no deal will be possible “unless the nuclear issues are addressed.”
The official also underscored the administration’s resolve on the matter.
“The U.S. position gets stronger every day, and President Trump remains patient and fully committed to his goal that Iran never have a nuclear weapon,” the official said.
Diplomatic efforts are continuing behind the scenes. As Axios noted, Qatari mediators met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York on Monday.
The mediators are expected to meet with Trump administration officials later Monday or on Tuesday.
