Trump says Iran ‘afraid’ to admit it wants a deal, as Tehran says no negotiations

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TEHRAN/WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump insisted on March 25 that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” he told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

“They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us.”

The ramped-up rhetoric dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation, as the violence on the ground showed no sign of abating after almost four weeks.

Mr Trump repeated his assertion that Iran was being “decimated” in the conflict now in its fourth week, even though Tehran still maintains an effective stranglehold over the crucial Strait of Hormuz oil route.

Lashing out at his domestic opponents, he also claimed Democrats were trying to “deflect from all of the tremendous success that we’re having in this military operation”.

In a mocking reference to calls from Democrats for him to seek the approval of Congress for the conflict, Mr Trump added: “They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word military operation.”

The US leader’s comments came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “we do not intend to negotiate”.

“At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance”, Mr Araghchi said on state TV, adding that the United States “speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat” by Washington.

“If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment... Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a news briefing, following reports that Iran had rebuffed a US peace plan.

“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” she said, while adding that “talks continue”.

Ms Leavitt declined to say whom the US was dealing with in Tehran following the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.

The spokeswoman also declined to confirm reports that top US officials including Vice-President J.D. Vance were set to hold talks with the Iranians in Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator.

Pakistani officials earlier said Islamabad had conveyed to Tehran an American 15-point plan to stop the fighting that began on Feb 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran and has since engulfed the region.

Iran state television Press TV cited an unidentified official as saying Tehran had “responded negatively” to the plan and that the war would only end on Tehran’s terms, which includes guarantees against future attacks.

“We seek an end to the war on our own terms,” Mr Araghchi confirmed, “and in a way that it will not be repeated here again”.

With thousands more US troops reportedly headed to the Middle East, Iran also threatened to open a new front by targeting Red Sea shipping, should the US launch a ground invasion.

‘Out of control’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war was “out of control”.

On the ground, there was no let-up in the hostilities, with targets in Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire.

Iran’s military said its cruise missiles fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group had “forced it to change its position”, warning of “powerful strikes” when the fleet comes into range.

US ally Israel, meanwhile, said it had struck targets in Tehran as well as a submarine development facility in the central city of Isfahan.

From Tehran, 40-year-old Shayan told AFP: “There is gasoline, water and electricity. But there is a sense of helplessness in all of us. We don’t know what to do and there’s really nothing we can do.”

Iran sets five conditions

The White House said earlier that Mr Trump was ready to “unleash hell” if Iran did not admit defeat, while also insisting that Tehran is still taking part in talks.

Mediators in the region said work was ongoing behind the scenes, but Mr Araghchi said the exchange of messages through “friendly countries” did not equate to negotiations with Washington.

According to the New York Times, citing anonymous officials, the American 15-point plan touches on Iran’s contested nuclear and missile programmes, as well as “maritime routes”.

Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices.

The Iranian official quoted by Press TV said Tehran has put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end.

These include a robust mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the US will resume the war as well as compensation for war damages.

Iran’s conditions also include a cessation of hostilities on all regional fronts and against all “resistance groups” – an implicit reference to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Tehran also wants international recognition and guarantees of Iran’s rights to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Red Sea threat

Speculation in Iran of a possible US invasion of an Iranian island led to stark warnings of more violence and a further squeeze on ship traffic.

In the event of a US invasion, Iran would block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, an unnamed military official told local media.

Iran has close links to and arms the Houthi rebel group in Yemen which greatly reduced Red Sea traffic in October 2023 when they began attacking vessels in retaliation for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Dismantling Hezbollah

It remains unclear whether Israel is on board with America’s diplomatic overture.

While striking targets in Iran Wednesday, Israel kept up its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli warplanes pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country’s forces were expanding a “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon and that dismantling Hezbollah “remains central” to Israel’s objectives in Lebanon.

Lebanon was pulled into the war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,000 people have been killed in over three weeks of Israeli strikes and upwards of one million people displaced.

‘Non-hostile vessels’

With the war sending energy prices soaring, fuelling fears of higher inflation and weaker global growth, markets remained focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said the strait was “closed only to enemies”.

“The Strait of Hormuz, from our perspective, is not completely closed – it is closed only to enemies,” Araghchi said on state TV, adding: “There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass.”

He said Tehran’s armed forces had already “provided safe passage” for ships from friendly nations.

Stock markets rallied and oil prices tumbled on initial reports over potential negotiations, but on Wednesday the Brent crude benchmark crept back above US$100 a barrel. AFP