Trump says Iran has requested a meeting despite differing claims from Tehran

Donald Trump said on social media that Iran had requested a meeting with US counterparts, though Iranian officials said no such meeting was scheduled.

The US president has tried to preserve an increasingly fragile interim deal as hostilities have mounted in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, which could cause oil prices to rise and undermine Mr Trump’s claims to voters that inflation in America was easing.

Mr Trump said the meeting with Iran would happen on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.

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Earlier on Monday, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has said six billion dollars (£4.54 billion) in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar as negotiations with the United States were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.

Mr Pezeshkian is the highest-ranking official within Iran to reference the release of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations with Pakistan.

So far, US officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released.

Mr Pezeshkian was cited by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying: “Based on the plans made, six billion dollars out of the total 12 billion dollars of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out.”

The remarks appeared aimed at selling the Iranian public on the interim deal.

Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday following new US air strikes against the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Meanwhile, confusion mounted about when the next round of talks between Iran and the US would be held.

Pakistan, a key mediator, has said talks would resume on Tuesday.

The Trump administration on Sunday said nothing has been cancelled and technical talks are on track for the coming days.

But Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior negotiator for Iran, denied any talks had been scheduled, in comments published by IRNA.

“Although consultations with Qatar, including on following up on the implementation of the other side’s commitments, are continuing as usual, reports by some media about technical talks by the working groups being held in Doha are not confirmed,” he said.

Technical talks involve lower-level diplomats working on the specifics of any deal that would draw top leaders from Iran and the U.S. back to the table.