US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran were ongoing, despite a report that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with the United States to end hostilities.
"Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported earlier that Tehran was halting indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon.
In telephone interviews with news outlets after that report, Trump said he had not been told that Iran was suspending talks with Washington.
"They haven't informed us of that," Trump said in an interview with NBC News.
Trump said that silence between the two sides would be fine and he was willing to wait.
"I think we've been talking too much if you want to know the truth. I think going silent would be very good, and that could be for a long time," he told NBC.
A suspension in negotiations would not mean the US would start bombing Iran, Trump told the network, adding that the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.
In a separate interview with CNBC, Trump had said he did not mind if the talks were over.
Trump: 'I couldn’t care less if talks over'
"I don’t care if they’re over, honestly ... I couldn’t care less," CNBC quoted him as saying.
Shortly after those media interviews were reported, Trump issued his social media post saying talks with Iran were continuing.
Iran also threatened to completely block the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the south of the Red Sea, claiming that there would be no talks until its demands on the cessation of Israel's operations in both Lebanon and Gaza were met.
"The immediate cessation of the Zionist regime's aggressive and brutal army operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the necessity of the regime’s complete withdrawal from the occupied areas in Lebanon have been emphasized by Iranian officials and negotiators, and there will be no talks until Iran and the resistance's views on this matter are met," Tasnim added.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on X/Twitter that "The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
"Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts," he added. "The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation."
James Genn contributed to this report.