No ongoing or scheduled talks with Iranian regime, Trump says

Washington is not currently negotiating with the Iranian regime and no talks are scheduled, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, noting that “the naval blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated.”

Tehran rejected those assertions, maintaining that the waterway remains under Iranian authority and will stay shut until Washington yields to its terms.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, said in Tehran on Tuesday that the strategic maritime passage would not reopen until the United States satisfies the Islamic Republic’s demands, including the removal of the naval blockade on its southern ports.

“I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding—specifically the lifting of the naval blockade, the unfreezing of assets, the lifting of the oil embargo, the cessation of threats and military operations on all fronts, as well as other clauses of the text—have been implemented,” said Ghalibaf.

🚢 Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until US meets Iran’s demands: top negotiator

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaking in Tehran, says that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a… pic.twitter.com/3BZm68O0iC

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 18, 2026

Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, mocked the American claims on social media on Tuesday.

“The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself,” Rezaei wrote on X. “Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”

Rezaei was named to the top security post in an Aug. 9 presidential decree by Masoud Pezeshkian, shortly after Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei designated him as his personal representative on the council.

The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself.
Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/nC7VBCPILH

— محسن رضایی (@ir_rezaee) August 18, 2026

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday that Iran could avoid further military action by abandoning its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

“Let’s hope that somewhere along the way, the Iranian regime can wake up to the fact that they’re not going to get a nuclear weapon, and they can either determine they won’t have it by result of diplomacy or the result of activity that they really don’t benefit from,” Huckabee told Israel’s Channel 12.

Huckabee said Iran had been “weakened dramatically—economically, militarily—because of the 12-day war last year and because of ‘Epic Fury’ this year.”

On the extremists in Qusra, whether Trump will formally endorse Netanyahu — and what the Deep South can teach us about Iran: my interview with @USAmbIsrael tonight on @N12News pic.twitter.com/4NYqRZVh9d

— Yonit Levi (@LeviYonit) August 18, 2026

Asked why Tehran was continuing to resist negotiations, he said such rhetoric was typical of the regime.

“But that’s typical for them. They’re always going to beat their chest and say things that make them look strong and good, but deep down they know that their economy is not doing well, their people are suffering,” Huckabee said. “Now whether that changes their behavior, that’s what we don’t know. Let’s hope it does, but if it doesn’t, there could come at some point of time in which another combat operation could take place.”

On uranium enrichment, Huckabee said Trump had been unequivocal. “I think the president has been so clear. And he has consistently, without equivocation, said not only will they not have a nuclear weapon, but he has said as the commander in chief of the United States—they will not have enriched uranium.”