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United States President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with Iran were happening "right now," describing them as a final opportunity for Tehran to make a deal.
Talks are "going on right now," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding: "This is a last chance for them to sign a good document."
Trump said he wanted to give Iran a "last chance" before taking what he described as a "decapitation" action, while claiming negotiations were continuing despite Iranian denials.
"Iran did not want to be hit, and they said we want to talk," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said the talks were being held at Iran's request and with support from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
"We're talking at the request of Iran, backed by Saudi Arabia, backed by UAE and backed by Qatar in particular, but others also," he said.
"This is the last chance for them to sign a good document," Trump added.
"I want to give him every last chance before decapitation," he said when pressed further.
Asked whether talks with Iran were now off, Trump said: "They're going on right now."
"When they're talking, they don't like saying that they're talking ... We're in talks, and they'll sometimes deny it, even though they spend hours and hours together talking," he said.
Trump said the negotiations would proceed in two phases, with the first focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the second addressing Iran's nuclear capabilities.
The United States and Iran have exchanged military strikes in recent weeks, with Washington attacking targets inside Iran and Tehran responding by targeting what it described as U.S. military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, particularly Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The escalation followed a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran in June and the launch of negotiations toward a final agreement.
The talks later stalled over disagreements concerning security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically important routes for energy supplies and global trade.
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