new delhi/tehran, Aug. 28 -- United States President Donald Trump said he has no fixed timeline for Iran to return to the negotiating table to end the conflict with Washington, telling Al Jazeera that he is "not in a hurry" for talks to resume. "I have no time schedule, none. I'm not in a hurry. I have no time schedule at all," Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday when asked how much time he was giving Iran to return to negotiations. Trump said the US was "winning very big" and pointed to economic difficulties in Iran as he explained his position. "We are winning very big. They've got massive inflation, their economy is falling apart, they're treating their people very badly, they are killing many, many protesters. I have no time schedule; whatever it takes," he said. Asked whether economic measures were more effective than military strikes, Trump said, "I think they are both effective." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday, Iranian state television said, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz on the agenda. Iranian state television reported that Araghchi's meeting with Al Thani, who is also prime minister, took place in Tehran. Qatar's foreign ministry had earlier said the visit would address "ways to de-escalate tensions" in the region and "freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz". US allies are privately warning that the Strait of Hormuz is still likely mined, casting doubt on President Donald Trump's claim that the US Navy has completely removed and detonated explosives laid by Iran. The US is likely to have made some progress in removing mines in international waters, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal assessments. But they believe that demining efforts haven't cleared all of the estimated 80 to 150 mines laid by Iran. US officials pushed back against that assessment. One person familiar with the US position, who also asked not to be identified, said those figures were outdated. Centcom spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement that "internationally recognised transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz are free of Iranian sea mines." The claim from US allies challenges Trump's repeated statements in recent days that the strait has been cleared. On Wednesday, he called Hormuz "a very functioning strait" and repeated his claim that no mines remained. "The mines are gone. You probably saw that - we put it out yesterday - all the mines, we got rid of the mines," he said on "The Glenn Beck Program". Trump has repeatedly insisted the strait is safe, as part of an administration-wide effort to calm energy markets as he looks to end the six-month war heading into midterm elections in November. Kuwait and Qatar - two of the Persian Gulf's smaller oil producers - are sending more crude through the Strait of Hormuz, adding to an increase in shipments that are keeping global prices in check. The two countries, which exported a combined 2 million barrels a day of oil before the outbreak of the Iran war, have managed to get shipments back to 70% of pre-conflict levels, according to traders, who asked not to be named as they're not allowed to speak to media. The United Arab Emirates was the first gulf producer to export large volumes of oil through Hormuz, using ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman in a tactic known as shuttling. It has since been joined by Saudi Arabia, which has been forced to rely more on exporting through the waterway after Houthi militants started targeting tankers in the Red Sea. A total of around 7 to 8 million barrels of oil a day is now exiting Hormuz, up from around 4 million barrels a day in mid-July, the traders said. That's around three-quarters of pre-war levels. Vortexa said on Monday that the seven-day average of oil flows through the waterway was close to 10 million barrels a day. Iraq is offering buyers of its crude the option to collect supplies from outside of the Persian Gulf for the first time since the Iran war began, highlighting resilient exports flowing through the Strait of Hormuz....