Trump claims US and Iran having ‘friendly’ talks

The US president, however, threatened a return to “strong military action” if diplomacy with Tehran collapses The US and Iran are engaged in “very friendly” negotiations, US President Donald Trump has said, warning he could order a return to hostilities if diplomacy fails.Iran, meanwhile, denied having any direct talks with the US but confirmed consultation with Oman, which has often acted as a mediator between the two.Trump made the remarks on Monday, telling reporters, “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good, if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”Speaking at a campaign rally in Michigan later the same day, Trump also noted, referring to Iran: “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them… Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.” Separately, he confirmed to Axios that he had stopped the strikes on Iran to give diplomacy a chance, adding that if “deep talks” don’t lead to results, “we will go back to very strong military action.” According to the outlet, the talks revolve around a new arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and revive negotiations on a b...