Trump says Iran talks to take place Monday, sets no deadline for deal

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had asked the United States to call off planned strikes because "they think there's a deal." "There's a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran," Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Trump did not provide details of where negotiations would take place or who would be involved. Asked if there was a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement, Trump said in response: "Would I rather make a deal? I'm not looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don't want that." Oil prices fell on Monday in early Asia trade after Trump announced the new negotiations. Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the strait, where a tanker reported an explosion nearby on Sunday, underscoring the continued volatility of the strategic waterway. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday that negotiations between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz have progressed and are on the path of being finalized. Elaborating on the Iran-Oman talks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stressed that reaching an agreement between the two countries is not related to the waterway's reopening or continued closure. Baghaei said Iran and Oman are working to designate a "new route" in the strait within a traffic separation scheme format that can ensure both sides' sovereign rights as well as Iran's national interests and security. Baghaei added that Iran-Oman negotiations had "no link to the Strait of Hormuz being opened or closed. That is a separate discussion."