Trump calls Iran "duplicitous" after they deny his claim talks are resuming
CBS News · LC · trust 66/100
Updated on: August 3, 2026 / 12:52 PM EDT / CBS News
President Trump said over the weekend that appeals from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and even Iran persuaded him to give diplomacy another chance after warning of a major attack on Iranian energy infrastructure.
They would have been the "biggest attacks since World War II," he said, adding instead that talks between the U.S. and Iran would resume Monday.
Besides the fact that Iranian leadership has already denied there are any plans for U.S.-Iran negotiations, they appear to be growing unconvinced by the president's carrot-and-stick diplomacy.
Back in April, the president warned Tehran to agree to a ceasefire or, as he put it, " a whole civilization will die ," only to extend the deadline. He repeated the tactic in May and June.
Sources inside Iran say this has only reinforced a belief among the country's leadership that Mr. Trump is not looking for a wider war, but for leverage in negotiations.
They calculate that they can absorb the pressure and raise the cost to the U.S. through proxies – such as Yemen's Houthis – and threats to global shipping until Washington concludes there is no military way out of this conflict.
Fifty thousand U.S. troops are still deployed in the Middle East for a war that was expected to last no more than six weeks and is now in its sixth month. Eighteen American service members have been killed, and hundreds more wounded; global energy markets remain on edge, and Iran's leadership is firmly in power.
For now, the view from Tehran is that time is on their side.
Despite President Trump's comments last night that negotiations with Iran are set to begin on Monday afternoon, U.S. officials have told CBS News that there are no "new" or novel negotiations planned – just the ongoing talks between Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and the U.S. negotiating team with the Iranian team, through mediators.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference Monday that Tehran had no plans to hold direct talks with Washington, after Mr. Trump's claim that a "deal is imminent."
"To avoid any misunderstanding, it is important to clarify what the current negotiations are about and who they are with. We are not negotiating with the United States at this time," Baghein said.
"Our negotiations are with Oman and are focused on reaching an understanding on a route that will ensure the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
President Trump has responded to Tehran's dismissal of his claim that U.S.-Iran talks were set to restart Monday, calling the country's leadership "unbelievably duplicitous" and saying they begged for talks.
Mr. Trump said on Sunday that he had called off massive strikes on Iran because Gulf allies and Tehran had asked him to give diplomacy a chance, adding that U.S.-Iran talks would resume Monday afternoon and that a "deal is imminent."
Iran on Monday denied that any talks were planned and said it was only in negotiations with Oman at the moment, to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Monday, Mr. Trump wrote: "Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous! They ask for a meeting, some would say 'beg,' talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they're not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they're only dealing with 'Oman.'"
"Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished," he added. "Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades. It is very simple, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!"
Israel "will not retreat from its current stance" in Gaza, a senior Israeli political source told CBS News, after Hamas said Israeli escalation in the enclave was threatening negotiations.
Israel on Monday said it had conveyed its "comments and concerns" to the U.S. on the next phase of a Gaza peace plan as it kept up strikes on the Palestinian territory. Mr. Trump touted the plan last week, saying it includes the disarmament of Hamas , one of Iran's main proxy groups in the region.
A senior Hamas leader told Qatari state media Al Jazeera on Monday that the movement has contacted mediators over what it described as a recent Israeli escalation in Gaza, urging them to take action to halt further attacks.
Palestinian officials said at least 13 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes over the weekend, including several children, according to CBS News' partner network The BBC .
"The movement demanded that the mediators intervene directly to compel the occupation to completely halt the ceasefire violations," the Hamas leader said, referring to Israel. "We confirmed to the mediators that the continuation of the attacks obstructs the implementation of the agreement and negotiations over the timetable."
But speaking later Monday to CBS News, a senior Israeli political source said Israel "will not retreat from its current stance in the Gaza Strip and will continue to thwart any threat to our citizens and soldiers."
An Iraqi politician has claimed that Baghdad has been mediating between Iran and the U.S., according to Iranian state news agency IRNA .
Meysar al-Shammari, a leader in the National Wisdom Movement political party, said Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi carried messages from the U.S. to Tehran after a recent visit to the White House.
Al-Zeidi "is advancing diplomatic efforts to play a mediating role and bring the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States closer, with the aim of containing regional tensions and preventing the expansion of the scope of the conflict," al-Shammari said.
The Iraqi politician added that after the prime minister's recent visit to the U.S., al-Zeidi carried messages…
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