WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has requested to meet with US negotiators, a possible diplomatic opening after both sides paused strikes. 

“Iran took a beating over the last 14 days,” Trump told reporters traveling on Air Force One. “They asked us very nicely, 'Please stop. Let's meet.'”

“The only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard,” Trump added. "There is a good chance something can happen.” 

“We're talking right now,” Trump said, warning the US military would “go back to what we were doing” if diplomacy failed. Trump has previously said he is weighing a “massive attack” on Iran, describing power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure as possible targets.  

On Friday, he ordered a halt in strikes against Iranian military targets amid reports of dwindling munitions stockpiles, prompting Iran to pause what it called “retaliatory operations” against US bases in the region that killed four service members. 

Oman, as well as mediators Qatar and Pakistan, are working to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table to salvage their mid-June memorandum of understanding, which effectively collapsed amid Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Omani officials arrived in Tehran Friday for talks on resuming traffic in the strait.  

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the United States and Iran have communicated only through intermediaries. 

“Mediators may convey messages to us from the American side regarding ongoing developments in the region. But at present, we have no negotiations with the American side,” Baghaei said.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Tuesday at the White House, with Iran “first and foremost” on the agenda, Netanyahu’s office said.

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