WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday tempered expectations of a quick end to the war he launched with Iran, claiming the country's leaders want to negotiate even as they deny having asked for talks. 

“They want to make a deal. They're talking to our people,” Trump said at a White House event. “I don't know if they're ready yet."

Trump’s comments came two days after Reuters reported that his administration dismissed efforts by Oman and other regional partners to initiate talks between the two sides. In the weeks before the war, Tehran and Washington held multiple rounds of Oman-mediated indirect negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS on Sunday that his country hasn't asked for a ceasefire and doesn’t see “any reason why we should talk with Americans.” Araghchi and other Iranian officials have laid out several extensive demands to end the war, which include reparations for damage caused by strikes, a recognition of Iran’s right to uranium enrichment and a guarantee that the United States and Israel won’t attack in the future.