Trump denies Axios report: “I offered Iran NOTHING — no sanctions relief, no frozen funds”

U.S. President Donald Trump denied on Monday that he offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions from Tehran, as Reuters reports.

“This is untrue. I offered NOTHING,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, responding to a report by the American outlet Axios which, citing unnamed U.S. officials, claimed the president was ready to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran’s “concrete steps” on the nuclear program.

Trump called the Axios report a hoax and demanded its retraction. The Axios report did not identify the U.S. officials cited. CNN also reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official, that Trump was prepared to give Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds as part of a final deal, provided Iran offered “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue.

The denial comes as U.S. and Iranian officials spoke separately on Monday with mediators — Qatar and Pakistan — in a renewed push to end seven months of war, which began on February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Trump has cited the weakening of Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of the war’s objectives; Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who stayed in New York after the UN General Assembly, said Iran awaits the U.S. response to its latest ceasefire proposals and conditions for reopening maritime passage in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian state agency IRNA.