United States ruler Donald Trump has claimed that the United States and Iran are engaged in “very friendly” talks. Iran has denied that any negotiations are taking place, while Trump has threatened to resume the bombing campaign if diplomacy stalls.

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Trump made the comments on Monday, telling reporters, “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good; if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”

Even though Iran denied talks resumed, it did confirm a consultation with Oman, which has often acted as a mediator between the two warring countries. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei,  did say that Iran and Oman are talking about arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz. Baghaei added that Iran has “never hesitated to use diplomatic tools to protect our national interests.”

When asked about the US coming to the table during talks, Baghaei said that Washington would need to “demonstrate more responsible behavior” while accusing it of acting “like a mafia gang” over the past one to two years by disregarding international law.

Trump also alluded to the idea that Iran would need to be beaten using military force, because they cannot be bargained with. He made the comments while speaking at a campaign rally in Michigan later the same day. While referring to Iran’s negotiations, he said: “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them… Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei pushed back on Trump’s comments, saying Tehran currently has no negotiations with Washington, and that reports it had requested talks were mere speculation, according to a report by RT. Not a single Iranian diplomat has come forward backing Trump’s assertions that talks are ongoing and “friendly.”

Which side is lying and why? What’s the point of dragging the public through the lies about whether or not talks are taking place? What do you think the angle could be, and why would either side be lying about the diplomacy?