US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that talks with Iran have been taking place over the phone in recent days, after he canceled a trip over the weekend for US negotiators to travel to Pakistan to speak with Iranian officials. He made the comments hours after rejecting an Iranian proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz and lift Washington’s blockade on Iran while pushing off nuclear talks to a later date. He had insisted that Tehran would have to agree to give up its nuclear ambitions if it wished to bring the war to an end. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appeared before the US Congress to defend the war and dismiss accusations that the Trump administration had led the US into a “quagmire.” He said the war has so far cost the US $25 billion. Trump, speaking to Axios on Wednesday, stressed that the US would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a nuclear deal is reached. “They want to settle,” he said. “They don’t want me to keep the blockade.…