Trump says 'not open to anything right now' on Iran nuclear talks

US President Donald Trump said Monday he is "not open to anything right now" on Iran nuclear talks, walking back his own suggestion earlier that he would accept a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment.

"I can't really talk to you about it. Too many things are happening," Trump told the New York Post in a brief phone interview.

Trump also issued a veiled warning, saying Iran is fully aware of what lies ahead.

"I can tell you they want to make a deal more than ever, because they know we're — what's going to be happening soon," he said.

Asked about regional claims that Iran is attempting to "wait out" Washington on both the nuclear issue and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said he "hadn't heard that."

"It's a negotiation. I don't want to be stupid," he added.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said talks with the US were still ongoing through Pakistani mediation.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. Tehran retaliated with strikes targeting Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but subsequent talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. Trump later extended the truce indefinitely.