President Trump Says Talks with Iran Continue

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump on Monday said talks with Iran were still ongoing, despite reports that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with the United States to end hostilities.

"The talks continue, quickly, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (2/6).

Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim news agency earlier reported that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered troops to advance deeper into Lebanon.

In a telephone interview with the media after the report, President Trump said he had not been told that Iran had suspended talks with Washington.

"They haven't told us about it," he said in an interview with NBC News.

President Trump said the silence between the two parties would be fine and he was willing to wait.

"I think we've talked too much if you want to know the truth. I think silence would be very good, and it could last a long time," he told President Trump.

The Republican president told the news network that the suspension of negotiations did not mean the US would start bombing Iran, adding that the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

In a separate interview with CNBC, President Trump said he did not mind if the talks ended.

"To be honest, I don't care if the talks end. I don't care at all," President Trump said, as quoted by CNBC.

Shortly after the media interview was reported, President Trump issued a post on his social media saying that talks with Iran continued.