Memphis/Palm Beach: US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the United States has successfully destroyed Iran’s military capabilities while holding “really good discussions” with Iranian representatives, even as Tehran denied that any talks are underway.

Speaking from Memphis, Trump praised US military successes during the ongoing conflict, saying, “We’ve eliminated everything there is to eliminate in Iran, and we eliminated their leaders. It’s sad, they could’ve made a deal.”

The president added that discussions are ongoing to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached.”

“This time Iran means business, they want to settle. They want peace. We’ll give it five days,” Trump said. “Iran has one more opportunity to end threats to America and its allies, and we hope they take it.”

Trump reiterated claims of negotiations despite repeated denials from Iran. “We’re now having some really good discussions. They started last night, a little bit, the night before that,” he said. “They want peace. They’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon.”

He added, “We hope we can make a deal that’s good for all of us,” including Middle Eastern allies and Israel.

The Axios newsite, citing an unnamed Israeli official, named Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's speaker of parliament, who is one of the most prominent non-clerical figures in Tehran.

But Ghalibaf said "no negotiations" were underway in a post on X, adding that the announcement was intended "to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei indicated that messages had been received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war," according to the official IRNA news agency.

Although Oman mediated indirect US-Iran talks in the month before the US and Israel launched the war, other countries have been mooted as possible go-betweens, including Egypt, Qatar or Pakistan.

On the threat posed by Iran, Trump emphasised, “Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America and its allies – and we hope they take it. Either way, America and the entire world will be much safer soon.” He also reiterated previous claims that the US is “systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America.”

Iran, however, denied any talks with the US. “Over the past few days, messages were received through some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to the official IRNA news agency. He “denied any negotiations or talks with the United States during the past 24 days of the imposed war,” contradicting Trump’s statements.

Markets reacted sharply to Trump’s comments. Oil prices tumbled, and stock markets rebounded on Monday after Trump announced a halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, citing “very good” talks on his Truth Social platform. Crude futures plunged more than 14 per cent initially, before pulling back to trade down around eight percent as Iran maintained its denial of negotiations.