'Important Person in Iran', Washington's Latest Deception?
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump claims to have spoken with one of what he calls an ‘important person’ in Iran to delay an attack on the country’s energy infrastructure and power plants. Trump says this important person in Tehran offered talks via phone to dissuade the US from proceeding with the ongoing escalation of war.
However, Trump refused to name the important person in Iran he was referring to. “They (Iran) are getting better PR. We have had very serious talks. Witkoff and Kushner (Trump’s trusted aides) handled those talks. Everything is going perfectly,” Trump said, as quoted from FOX News on Monday (23/3/2026). Trump’s statement to FOX News was in response to Iran’s official denial that there have been no talks or dialogue with the US.
Trump declined to reveal who the important person in Iran involved in the talks was. Trump said he did not want that important person in Iran to be killed for engaging in talks with Washington.
“They spoke with an important person in Iran, but they do not want that person to be killed,” Trump stated. He said the talks with the important person in Iran would continue for the next five days.
Trump hopes that the talks with the important person in Iran will lead to a positive way forward. Because if not, Trump said the threat to destroy Iran’s power plants and energy facilities would still proceed as scheduled.
“We will have talks for five days. We will see how it turns out. If it goes smoothly, we will resolve this issue. If not, we will just continue to bomb relentlessly,” Trump said.
Trump rejected the notion that he was withdrawing the threats he had already issued against Iran on Sunday (22/3/2026). Trump said the threats should still stand until the deadline on Tuesday (24/3/2024).
Nevertheless, Trump said the important person from Iran contacted him to discuss practical matters that could nullify the US threats. “Tomorrow morning (24/3/2026), we hope we would be able to blow up their largest power plant, which would cost more than 10 billion dollars to rebuild,” Trump said.
In fact, the plan to carry out his threat had initially been prepared with a single shot. “One shot, destroyed, collapsed,” Trump said. But Trump said the important person in Iran made direct contact to negotiate the threat. “Why would they want that? So they called. It wasn’t me who called. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.
However, in official statements to many international media outlets, Iran has strongly denied any dialogue with the US. Authorities in Tehran stated that President Donald Trump’s comments regarding the delay in attacking Iran’s power plants and energy facilities are merely intrigue and an effort to normalise global markets following the rise in world oil prices due to strict restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.