Iran Responds to Trump's Announcement of Halting War, Denies Negotiations

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Iran has responded to the statement from the United States President announcing a temporary halt to the war. Indeed, President Donald Trump stated that Washington and Tehran have held “productive conversations” over the past two days towards a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East.

“I have ordered the war department to suspend all military strikes against Iran’s power plants,” Trump boasted again on his social media on Monday local time, published on Tuesday (24/3/2026), while reiterating that there were “very good” talks to end the three-week Middle East war with Iran.

So, what is Iran’s response?

Iran’s parliamentary speaker and one of the most prominent non-clerical figures, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has strongly denied the existence of any talks. Tehran also accused Trump of engaging in “manipulation of the energy market”.

Trump’s statement came after he previously gave a deadline until Tuesday night to open the Strait of Hormuz while threatening to bombard Iran’s power plants. It should be noted that oil prices fell and the stock market surged following the statement he made.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that they had indeed received messages through “friendly countries” regarding the US request for dialogue. However, they denied any “negotiations” since the beginning of the war, something that Trump had previously claimed.

“Over the past few days, messages have been received through several friendly countries indicating the US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, according to the official IRNA news agency, quoted by AFP.

“However, we deny any negotiations or talks with the United States during the last 24 days of the imposed war,” he emphasised.