Trump said the talks would proceed after he previously announced that he had called off an imminent attack to allow more time for diplomacy.

In a post on his Truth Social platform late on Saturday, Trump said Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had requested time to complete an agreement that would lead to “the Immediate, Complete and Total” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”, but said Tehran must “rapidly make a deal.”

Speaking to reporters while returning to Washington from New Jersey on Sunday, Trump said negotiations would begin on Monday afternoon, but did not disclose the location of the talks or identify the participants.

Asked whether Iran faced a deadline to reach an agreement, Trump declined to answer.

“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,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate the war launched against Iran alongside Israel in February, but has also repeatedly extended time for negotiations, which have yet to produce a comprehensive agreement.

Trump's latest move to reduce tensions after several days of threats of new attacks from both sides marked another turn in the conflict. Fighting had spread from the Gulf to the Red Sea and reached a facility in the Mediterranean in Egypt.

Iran had largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, before the war began. The disruption pushed energy prices higher and increased inflation concerns.

Trump argued that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons justified higher fuel prices in the short term, but the economic impact increased political pressure on his administration to end the conflict.

Oil prices fell by more than 4 percent during early trading on Monday, August 3.