DUBAI, UAE - Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani said Monday that Tehran will not negotiate with Washington, rejecting media reports about back-channel talks, and sharply criticizing US President Donald Trump.

Larijani took to X to deny comments attributed to him in The Wall Street Journal suggesting he sought talks with the United States through Omani mediators.

“We will not negotiate with the United States,” he wrote in Arabic, stressing that Iran’s positions remain firm.

In a different post, Larijani accused Trump of dragging the region into turmoil with what he called “delusional actions,” saying the US president turned his slogan of “America first” into “Israel first.”

He claimed that US troops have been made to pay the price of policies serving Israel’s interests.

“And with new fabrications, he once again imposes the cost of his personality cult on American soldiers and their families,” said Larijani.

He further asserted that Iran is defending itself amid the current tensions and insisted that Iran’s armed forces did not initiate the conflict.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said Iran’s new leadership “want to talk” and that he had agreed to hold discussions, a day after large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior officials.

In a phone call with The Atlantic, Trump said Tehran should have moved earlier to reach what he described as a “very practical and easy” deal, adding that he could not say when talks might take place.

He also claimed that “most” Iranian officials involved in recent negotiations were killed in the strikes, and later told Fox News that at least 48 Iranian leaders had died.

The military offensive triggered Iranian missile and drone attacks on US bases in the region, resulting in the deaths of three American service members, according to the US military. Iran declared 40 days of mourning for Khamenei, who had led the country for nearly four decades.