Donald Trump said there was “no time frame” for ending the war in Iran, with the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz set to continue indefinitely.
The US president said it was “not true” that he wanted to end the war before the US midterm elections in November, and insisted there was “no time pressure” on the ceasefire with Iran.
“People say I want to get it over because of the midterms, not true,” Mr Trump told Fox News.
He later told the New York Post that new talks with Iran could take place as soon as Friday after negotiations scheduled for earlier in the week in Pakistan failed to materialise.
Iran warned that no new peace talks could take place while the US navy’s blockade of Iranian ports remained in place.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator, accused Mr Trump of “holding the global economy hostage” with the blockade.
