ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump said Monday that there is a "good chance" a peace deal could be reached with Iran, claiming that "very friendly" talks are ongoing despite Tehran vehemently denying that any negotiations are taking place.

The US and Iran have exchanged strikes for almost two weeks after Washington declared an end to the peace deal, accusing Tehran of violating the ceasefire by targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

There has been a brief lull in hostilities since Saturday, coming after 13 consecutive days of US bombardment.

“They requested a meeting through their surrogates and directly, and we’re meeting, and, you know, good things are gonna happen, I guess,” Trump told reporters regarding talks with Iran.

“There’s a chance we can make a deal,” he said, adding that “we’ll see what happens.”

"I think there is a good chance that something could happen," the president continued, describing the negotiations as "very friendly talks" during a campaign rally later in the day.

Tehran earlier on Monday denied reports that it had requested talks with Washington.

“This is not in our DNA at all. Iran’s request for negotiations is a news-making tactic that the opposing sides do every now and then,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei said.

“The mediators may convey messages from the American side to us, and that too is about the current developments in the region; but at the moment, we are not having any negotiations with the American side,” he said.

On June 17, Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian digitally signed a memordanum of understanding (MoU) to bring the months-long conflict to an end. The accord granted the two sides a 60-day window to negotiate a final and permanent settlement.

The renewed hostilities kicked off only 21 days after the MoU was inked.

Washington’s rhetoric comes amid increased US frustration with Iranian attacks on commercial transit in the strategic waterway, with such strikes having served as the casus belli that triggered renewed US bombardment of Iran and the rupture of their bilateral memorandum of understanding.

The US has mainly targeted sites in southern Iran near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has launched attacks against regional countries hosting US military bases.