Trump Claims Iran Negotiating Secretly, Fears Admission and Being Killed by Own People
US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed that Iran is actually involved in peace talks, despite Tehran publicly denying it. He even claimed that Iranian negotiators fear admitting the process because they worry about being killed by their own side amid the conflict now entering its fourth week.
Speaking at a dinner with Republican members of Congress on Wednesday (25/3/2026) local time, Trump said Iran is very eager to reach an agreement.
“They are negotiating, by the way, and they very much want to make a deal. But they are afraid to say it, because they think they will be killed by their own people,” Trump said, quoted by AFP.
“They are also afraid of being killed by us,” he added.
The statement came after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “we have no intention of negotiating”. Trump also repeated his claim that Iran is being “destroyed” in the conflict, although Tehran still maintains effective control over the vital oil route of the Strait of Hormuz.
On the same occasion, Trump attacked his domestic political opponents. He accused the Democratic Party of trying “to distract from all the extraordinary successes we have achieved in this military operation.” He also mocked the Democrats’ demands for congressional approval of the conflict.
“They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you are supposed to get approval, so I will use the term military operation,” Trump said.
Previously, the White House stated that Trump is ready to “unleash hell” if Iran does not acknowledge defeat, while reaffirming that Tehran is still involved in talks.
Iranian state media previously quoted an anonymous official saying the Islamic Republic responded “negatively” to Washington’s 15-point plan.
Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt warned Iran not to miscalculate.
“If Iran fails to accept the current reality, if they fail to understand that they have been militarily defeated and will continue to be so, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than before,” she said to reporters.
“President Trump is not bluffing and he is ready to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” she added.
When asked if negotiations with Iran had stalled, Leavitt replied that the talks are ongoing and productive.
Leavitt refused to explain who Washington’s interlocutor in Tehran is following the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, while his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public. Several reports suggest the figure acting as intermediary is Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
The spokesperson also declined to confirm reports that high-ranking US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, will hold talks with the Iranian side in Pakistan, which is said to have emerged as a key mediator.