Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief for Nuclear Concessions

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday denied reports that his administration had offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for concessions on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, rejecting an Axios report that cited unnamed U.S. officials as saying he was prepared to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets if Tehran took “concrete” steps on its nuclear activities.

CNN separately reported, also citing an unidentified U.S. official, that Trump was willing to consider sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds as part of a final agreement if Iran demonstrated “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue.

The reports come as Washington and Tehran renew diplomatic efforts aimed at ending seven months of conflict. U.S. and Iranian officials held separate discussions with mediators on Monday, according to officials from both countries.

The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes against Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have since killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Trump has presented weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of Washington’s objectives during the conflict, while his administration’s broader goals and timelines have shifted over the course of the war.

Iran maintains that it does not possess nuclear weapons and denies seeking to develop them. Tehran says it is entitled to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The dispute over possible sanctions relief highlights the uncertainty surrounding renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations as mediators seek a path toward ending the fighting while addressing longstanding disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program.