Iran said on Monday that no negotiations were under way with the United States and no meeting was scheduled, directly contradicting President Donald Trump’s announcement that talks would begin that afternoon.

“We are not currently conducting negotiations with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure a passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at his weekly press conference.

Baghaei said Tehran had no plans to receive an American delegation or send Iranian negotiators abroad.

He described the discussions with Oman as an effort to establish a temporary maritime route through the strait, with separate lanes for vessels entering and leaving the Gulf.

An agreement with Muscat would not, by itself, amount to the full reopening of the waterway, Baghaei said. The situation would remain unchanged for as long as what Iran describes as US “aggression” continued.

Trump had presented a different account while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

“Now what we’re doing is talking to them, in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” he said, without identifying the participants or a venue.

Trump said he had called off a planned attack on Iran after Tehran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged Washington to give diplomacy another opportunity. Iranian officials did not confirm making such a request.

The US president said any agreement would have to secure the “immediate, complete and total” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and address Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran has repeatedly said it does not seek nuclear weapons but maintains that its nuclear activities are a sovereign right.

The dispute over Hormuz has remained central to the confrontation between the two countries since a June memorandum intended to reduce hostilities collapsed in early July.

Washington says that understanding required Iran to reopen the waterway fully. Tehran argues that it preserved Iran’s authority over maritime traffic and its ability to address security threats near its coastline.

Iran and Oman began technical discussions in late July. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said deputy foreign ministers had examined procedures for safe shipping while respecting the sovereign rights of both coastal states.

Iran has proposed moving one direction of traffic, along with part of the opposite route, through Iranian waters. Tehran previously rejected an Omani proposal to divide responsibility for the transit lanes equally, saying it did not address Iranian security concerns.

The International Maritime Organization’s existing traffic separation system was proposed jointly by Iran and Oman and adopted in 1968. It uses designated lanes to reduce collisions and regulate movement through the narrow waterway.

Hormuz carried about 20 million barrels of oil a day in 2024, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of global petroleum consumption, according to the US Energy Information Administration. About one-fifth of worldwide liquefied natural gas trade also passed through the strait.

Oil prices fell after Trump suspended the planned attack and predicted renewed diplomacy. Brent crude was down by more than 4 per cent at about $84 a barrel on Monday.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency separately reported an explosion in the water near a vessel in the strait overnight. The ship and its crew were not damaged or injured.