Trump denies offering Iran sanctions relief for nuclear concessions

President Donald Trump denied offering Iran sanctions relief or the release of frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions, disputing reports of a possible path to a deal while mediators continued efforts to end the war. The denial leaves a consequential question unresolved: whether the United States has signalled a willingness to ease economic pressure if Iran takes concrete steps on its nuclear programme.

‘This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, according to Reuters. His statement responded to an Axios report that cited unidentified US officials describing conditional relief. The reporting described a possible part of a deal, not an agreement reached with Tehran or sanctions relief already granted.

What the reports said

Axios reported on 28 September that Trump was willing to provide sanctions relief and release Iranian frozen funds in return for concrete Iranian steps on nuclear issues. The officials cited in that account were not named. Reuters also reported that CNN, citing an unidentified US official, described sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds as possible elements of a final deal if Iran made concrete progress on the nuclear issue.

The distinction between willingness to consider terms and an offer delivered to Iran matters here. Trump denied offering anything, while the published accounts attributed the possible terms to unnamed officials. The available reporting does not establish that a formal offer was made, that Iran accepted one, or that either side agreed to lift sanctions. The competing accounts have not been resolved publicly.

Mediation continues amid disagreements

Separately, the Associated Press reported that three regional officials and two US officials said mediators were still working with Washington and Tehran on a deal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the negotiations publicly. Their account describes continuing diplomacy; it does not establish that the sanctions terms reported by Axios had been agreed.

AP reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to meet Qatari mediators on Monday and that the Qataris were expected to meet Trump administration officials later Monday or Tuesday. Those were scheduled or expected contacts in the reporting, not confirmation that the meetings produced an agreement. Reuters also reported that US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of the renewed effort.

The proposals under discussion involve more than nuclear concessions. AP reported that one proposal would reopen the strait and lift the US blockade before sanctions were removed. A regional official told AP that the US request for nuclear concessions could include allowing inspectors into Iran. These accounts show why the order of steps matters: the parties are discussing shipping, the blockade, sanctions and nuclear access together.

AP said Iran’s latest proposal would reopen the strait within seven days if the United States met its conditions. Araghchi said that clock would start once Washington accepted the plan. AP also reported that Trump had initially rejected the proposal, which included lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, releasing frozen Iranian assets and waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. No acceptance of that proposal is established in the available reporting.

Why the dispute matters

The conflict began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, followed by Iranian strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases, Reuters reported. Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as a war objective. Iran says it has no nuclear weapons, does not seek them and has a right to peaceful nuclear technology under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Those positions frame the dispute over what nuclear steps could form part of a deal.

The Strait of Hormuz is another immediate concern. AP reported that attempts to ensure safe shipping through it had failed as the conflict entered its eighth month. The agency described pressure on Iran from the naval blockade and sanctions constraining oil sales, and pressure on the United States from high oil prices amid attacks on ships in the strait. A deal on nuclear issues alone would therefore leave other contested terms to settle.

There is also a recent precedent for caution about timelines. AP reported that Iran’s proposal echoed a June memorandum of understanding that collapsed within days. Under that earlier memorandum, the nuclear programme was to be discussed over 60 days. UN Secretary-General António Guterres met Araghchi on Monday and urged continued diplomatic efforts, AP reported. For now, the public record establishes Trump’s denial, competing accounts of possible terms and talks still facing unresolved questions about sequencing and implementation.