WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has rejected a media report claiming that his administration offered Iran relief from sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said he had made no offer to Iran and described the report published by the US news website Axios as a rumor. He also called on the outlet to remove the report.
The denial followed an Axios report in which one of the publication’s senior journalists said Trump was prepared to consider sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds if Tehran took concrete steps regarding its nuclear programme.
Trump’s comments came amid ongoing diplomatic contacts involving US and Iranian officials. According to the information provided, a Qatari mediator has met with US officials, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Qatar had conveyed Iran’s proposals to Washington.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a defiant message, saying efforts by the United States and Israel to push Iran into decline had failed.
In a statement issued in connection with Defense Week and the second anniversary of the death of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Khamenei said Iran would not return to the position its opponents wanted it to occupy.
According to Iranian media, Khamenei said some people now describe Iran as the world’s fourth superpower and added that, if God wills, the country could eventually become the strongest power.
He also referred to Iran’s position around the region’s waterways, saying opponents who previously operated around the seas to Iran’s south were now unable to advance beyond the Arabian Sea because of those defending the Strait of Hormuz.
Khamenei also praised Nasrallah, describing him as an Arab commander and a major symbol of the resistance front.
