Iran denies seeking resumption of talks with US, says Hormuz situation unchanged

DUBAI: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran has not asked to resume talks with Washington, even as mediators continue relaying messages between the two sides. “It’s not in our DNA,” Baghaei said, adding that Iran currently has no direct talks with the US.

Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that the situation there has not changed, though talks between Iran and Oman over managing the strait have been positive. He said Iran would not allow the US to dictate the terms on which the war ends, and alleged that some Gulf countries had been involved in Washington’s war on Iran, without providing further details.

The comments came as European shares climbed nearly 1% on Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 up 0.8% at 649.34 as of 0706 GMT, after a weekend pause in US-Iran hostilities lifted risk appetite.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would halt attacks if the US did the same, following Washington’s decision to pause its bombing campaign amid concerns over depleting its arsenal.

Brent crude futures dropped 6% to around $90 a barrel, with energy stocks losing 2%, joining utilities as the only declining sectors on the STOXX 600, as investors also braced for a pivotal week of earnings from major US tech companies.