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US President Donald Trump has said new talks with Iran will begin on Monday, after calling off what he said would have been “massive” strikes on the country.<\/b><\/p>\n
“They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” he told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday. “We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”<\/p>\n
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said he had been asked by Iran and US allies in the Middle East to “hold off” on any attack as the “perimeters” of a deal had been agreed.<\/p>\n
Iran’s foreign ministry said there are no plans to receive a US delegation or send Iranians to Washington. Earlier talks have been facilitated through mediators.<\/p>\n
The US president has repeatedly vowed that a negotiated end to the war is near, only for tit-for-tat strikes to resume.<\/p>\n
In his remarks on Air Force One, Trump declined to outline a deadline for a deal to be struck with Tehran, adding: “We’ll just see how it is. We’re ready to go anytime we want… I’m not looking to kill people.”<\/p>\n
Trump added that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – as well as US partners such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – had urged him against conducting strikes over the weekend.<\/p>\n
“We were all set to go,” Trump said. “The reason they asked is [that] they think there’s a deal,” he said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and there will be a deal on the nuclear.”<\/p>\n
Global oil prices fell on Monday morning in Asia trading after Trump’s announcement. Brent Crude oil was down by 4.5% at $83.98 (\u00a362.26), while US-traded oil was 4.6% lower at $80.74 (\u00a359.85).<\/p>\n
Energy prices have fluctuated since the conflict started on 28 February as traders reacted to disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n
Around 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually flows through the strait.<\/p>\n
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency denied that Tehran had asked the US to hold off on further military action, saying Trump’s claims were “nothing but a new lie”.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations with Oman on a deal on the Strait of Hormuz were “on track for finalisation”, according to Iranian media.<\/p>\n
The US president has not yet made clear the venue for the talks on Monday, nor the potential attendees.<\/p>\n
During his remarks on Air Force One, Trump said that the planned strikes would have been “the biggest attack since World War II”, and could have derailed prospects of a negotiated end to the months-long war.<\/p>\n
Trump declined to answer if he had been planning to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, which international law experts have said could constitute a war crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n Iran’s acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza earlier said Tehran viewed every threat from its adversaries as “real and credible” even if it formed part of psychological warfare.<\/p>\n “We will neither be caught off guard nor remain passive,” he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n