Trump Denies Iran Sanctions Offer, Araghchi Awaits Reply
The U.S. president called an Axios report a hoax, while Iran's foreign minister waits in New York for Washington's answer via Qatari mediators.
U.S. President Donald Trump denied on Truth Social on Monday that he had offered Iran an end to sanctions and the release of frozen funds. The same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York and said he expects Washington’s official response to Iran’s Strait of Hormuz plan on Tuesday.
What did Axios report, and how did Trump respond?
Axios, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that Trump is ready to lift sanctions on Iran and release frozen funds if Tehran shows concrete progress on the nuclear issue. CNN carried a similar claim. Trump answered on his own platform:
“Axios just published a story that ‘Trump’ offered Iran sanctions relief and frozen funds. That is not true. I offered them NOTHING!”
The post was followed by a demand that Axios retract the story, which Trump called a hoax. An unnamed U.S. official nonetheless told CBS and Al Jazeera that the president is prepared to lift sanctions and unfreeze funds, but only with concrete progress on the nuclear issue. The same official told Al Jazeera that the indirect talks are “positive and constructive,” adding that there will be no deal until Iran’s nuclear program is resolved.
The official also described where the sides part ways:
“Iran has signaled it is flexible on nuclear issues, but the sides still differ over deadlines for commitments and over who takes which steps first.”
Sanctions and frozen assets are not a new point of friction. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday that Washington rejected the Iranian proposal because Tehran, by his account, demanded an end to sanctions and access to “billions in frozen assets” before nuclear negotiations begin. Araghchi disputed Waltz’s account, saying the ambassador had not seen the plan.
What does Araghchi say about the talks with Qatar?
Qatar and Pakistan are mediating. After Monday’s meeting, Araghchi said the Qatari mediators will pass the ideas from the talks to the American side:
“We discussed ideas and how to find solutions to meet Iran’s conditions and how to implement those conditions.”
Asked whether he would stay in New York until an answer arrives, he said no: “Whenever the Qataris have an answer, they know how to deliver it to us.” Al Jazeera reports that he announced a flight to Tehran within hours, while CBS, citing Iran’s state news agency IRNA, says the Iranian delegation returns on Tuesday. IRNA also reported on Monday that no further direct talks between Tehran and Washington have been scheduled.
The Iranian minister described the exchange of messages through mediators as something that already existed, but with a new meaning:
“Such contacts and messages exchanged by Qatari and Pakistani mediators have always existed. But now, given the proposal Iran has put forward, the process has taken on a more serious character.”
What does the Iranian plan demand, and where do the disputes lie?
The plan was presented on Friday at the UN General Assembly. It calls for the release of frozen Iranian funds, an end to sanctions and an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports within four to five days. The Strait of Hormuz would then reopen, and talks on a final agreement, including the nuclear program, would begin by day seven. Trump rejected the plan on Saturday, calling it unacceptable, as we reported earlier, and on Sunday told Axios he expects talks to continue in the coming days.
Trust has eroded on both sides. A U.S. official claims Iran violated a memorandum of understanding signed in June by firing on merchant ships. Tehran denies this and accuses Washington of breaking its own commitments by failing to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon and by trying to set up alternative shipping routes through the strait.
On Monday Trump confirmed to reporters that U.S. officials had spoken with mediators, adding that Washington will win:
“We’re going to win… It’s going to go pretty quickly.”
He added that fuel prices will fall as soon as the U.S. wins the war. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Araghchi said Tehran is ready both for continued conflict and for diplomacy:
“We are fully prepared to continue the war. We will firmly meet any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. We do not care about the American midterm elections. We care about our national interests. At the same time, we are ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.”
How much is the war already costing?
The war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. About a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran closed it soon after the offensive began. According to CBS, a barrel of Brent crude cost $100.19 on Monday, up 2.8 percent. The Iranian rial fell to a record low of about 2.4 million to the dollar, and inflation in Iran hit 61.4 percent in August.
Crude exports from major Middle East producers rose in September to 12.8 million barrels a day, the highest since the war began, according to data from Kpler reported by Reuters. In February the figure was 18.8 million. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said on Saturday that American forces have helped 2,000 transits and more than a billion barrels of oil, while some ships sail a route along the Omani coast under U.S. oversight.
Washington’s answer, which Araghchi expects on Tuesday, will show whether the mediators can bridge the deadlines and the sequence of steps on which the sides still differ.
