US President Donald Trump said that he expects talks between American and Iranian mediators will continue this week, according to an Axios report on Sunday.
According to Axios, two sources confirmed that another round of indirect negotiations could be held as early as Monday.
“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” Trump told Axios during a phone interview. “ It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand."
When asked if he has considered renewing strikes against Iran, Trump stated that he is “always thinking about it.”
The report comes one day after Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to end the war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran waiting for mediators to deliver official response to proposal
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi put forth the proposal and presented it to US officials through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Araghchi told Iranian state media on Sunday that while he has seen Trump’s rejection, he is still waiting for mediators to convey an official response to the proposed deal.
A US official and two regional sources told Axios that Qatari mediators have continued to facilitate indirect negotiations over the course of the weekend.
The Qatari mediators have reportedly been going back and forth between US and Iranian representatives, meeting each group separately to discuss changes to the proposal and eventually creating a compromise proposal for both sides to review.