Trump calls Iran talks a 'last chance' as Tehran denies they exist
President Trump says peace talks with Iran are under way and has held off 'decapitation' strikes, but Tehran denies any negotiations exist and his own officials say none are planned.
President Trump says peace talks with Iran are under way and has called them a 'last chance' to end the five-month conflict, holding off planned strikes. Tehran denies any negotiations exist, and US officials told CBS News no new talks are planned. Oil prices rose amid the conflicting claims.
President Trump has described the latest round of negotiations with Iran as the "last chance" to end a conflict now roughly five months old, insisting that peace talks are under way "whether Iran wants to admit it or not." Tehran flatly denies any negotiations are taking place or being revived. US officials told CBS News that no new talks were planned, contradicting the president's own account. The war between the United States and Iran has been running since around late February, and has put the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for global oil shipments — at the centre of the fighting. Trump said he had called off planned large-scale strikes, which he described as "decapitation" strikes, at the urging of Gulf allies, conditional on a quick deal. He announced new talks were set to begin on a Monday. The standoff matters beyond the battlefield. Oil prices rose on the conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran, and the war has lifted profits at BP, Shell and Saudi Aramco while pushing up fuel costs for drivers and manufacturers as far away as Britain.
Trump insists talks are happening; Tehran and his own officials say otherwise
President Trump says peace talks with Iran are underway or about to begin. Tehran says they are not. His own officials say they are not either.
Trump described the latest round of negotiations as the "last chance" to end the conflict, which has lasted roughly five months. He said he expected talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to begin within a day or two, and insisted the Iranian government was in discussions about ending its attacks on commercial vessels in the strait.
Iranian officials flatly denied that negotiations with Washington were taking place or being revived, and showed no indication of altering their position on the strait.
Trump responded by escalating his rhetoric. Writing on Truth Social, he said peace talks were happening "whether Iran wants to admit it or not," accused Iran's leaders of lying about the existence of the talks, and called Tehran "unbelievably duplicitous" after it rejected his assertion that negotiations were about to resume.
The dispute extends into his own administration. US officials told CBS News that no new negotiations with Iran were planned, directly contradicting the president's public statements.
Strikes held off as Trump sets a Monday deadline for a deal
Trump said he had called off planned large-scale strikes on Iran, which he described as "decapitation" strikes, on the condition that a deal be reached quickly. He said he was holding off at the urging of Gulf allies, framing the pause as a final opportunity for Tehran to negotiate before military action resumed.
He also announced that new talks aimed at winding down the war would begin on a Monday, with reopening the Strait of Hormuz a central objective. Trump said he expected discussions to start within a day or two and claimed Iranian officials were already in talks about ending attacks on commercial vessels in the strait. Whether those Monday talks actually took place, or produced anything, is not established by the available reporting.
Shipping under threat in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Aden
The danger to commercial shipping is not confined to the strait itself. A cargo ship reported being struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. The date of the incident was not immediately clear.
Further south, six Saudi-flagged supertankers changed course in the Gulf of Aden amid threats from the Iran-aligned Houthis, Reuters reported.
Trump said the Iranian government was in discussions about ending its attacks on commercial vessels in the strait, but Tehran has shown no indication of altering its position there and has not acknowledged that talks are taking place. The status of the strait remains unresolved.
Oil supermajors cash in as the war squeezes supply
The war's grip on oil supply has delivered windfall profits to the world's biggest energy companies. BP reported quarterly profits of $5.73 billion, more than doubling from the prior period and its highest since the first year of Russia's war on Ukraine, driven by elevated oil and gas prices linked to the Middle East crisis. Shell posted its second-highest quarterly earnings on record, while Saudi Aramco's second-quarter profits rose 33 percent as the conflict constrained supply.
Oil prices climbed again after Trump's warning over the talks and Tehran's denial that negotiations were taking place. The earnings have drawn fire from the White House itself: Trump publicly criticised the major oil companies for earning too much from higher fuel prices during the war, even as his own threats against Iran helped push those prices upward.
Frequently asked questions
Are the US and Iran actually holding peace talks?
That depends on who you ask. President Trump said talks were underway and posted on Truth Social that they were happening 'whether Iran wants to admit it or not,' accusing Tehran's leaders of lying. Iranian officials denied any negotiations were taking place or being revived, and US officials told CBS News no new talks were planned. The briefing cannot resolve the disagreement.
What did Trump mean by giving Iran a 'last chance'?
Trump described the latest round of negotiations as the 'last chance' to end the conflict, which had lasted roughly five months as of early August 2026. He said he expected talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to begin within a day or two, and called off planned large-scale strikes — which he described as 'decapitation' strikes — conditional on a quick deal, at the urging of Gulf allies.
How has the Iran war affected oil companies' profits?
The war constrained oil supply and pushed fossil fuel prices higher, delivering windfall earnings for the supermajors. BP reported quarterly profits of $5.73 billion, more than doubling from the prior period and its highest since the first year of Russia's war on Ukraine. Saudi Aramco's second-quarter profits rose 33 percent, and Shell posted its second-highest quarterly earnings on record. Trump criticized the companies for earning too much.
What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz?
The briefing does not resolve the strait's status. Trump said he expected talks aimed at reopening it to begin within a day or two and claimed Iran was discussing ending attacks on commercial vessels there. Iran showed no indication of altering its position and did not acknowledge talks. Separately, a cargo ship reported being struck by a projectile off Oman in the strait, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center.
How is the Iran war affecting UK drivers and the economy?
British drivers leased used electric cars at a rate up 170 percent over the past year as they sought to avoid high petrol prices. Fuel theft from UK petrol stations reached nearly £200,000 a day, with incidents driven by first-time offenders up 23 per cent and the volume of fuel stolen up 26 per cent. UK factory output still rose for a fourth straight month in July, though manufacturers voiced concern about the war's economic impact, per S&P Global.
Compiled from reporting by 9 independent outlets. How we source our reporting.
