ISTANBUL

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Monday said that no negotiations have taken place with the US, dismissing reports of talks as “fake news” aimed at manipulating financial and oil markets.

“No negotiations have been held with the United States. These fake news reports are meant to manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire the US and Israel are stuck in,” Qalibaf said on the US social media company X.

He added that the Iranian people demand a “complete and regret-inducing punishment of aggressors,” stressing that all officials stand firmly behind the country’s leadership and the public until that goal is achieved.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said he has ordered a five-day postponement of all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, citing “very good and productive” talks with Tehran over the past two days.

Regional escalation has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.