Iran US negotiations disputed as Trump says Tehran wants a deal but terms are not set
Talks off, tanker passage possible: What Iran and the US are saying as war enters week three
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran sees no reason to negotiate with the United States, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran is seeking a deal to end the war as the conflict enters its third week.
In an interview aired Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, Araghchi said Iran was “stable and strong enough” and was “only defending our people”. He said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire or negotiations, arguing there was “no good experience talking with Americans” because talks were underway when, he said, the United States decided to attack.
Araghchi said Iran would continue to defend itself “as long as it takes” and described the conflict as “an illegal war with no victory”. He also accused Trump of starting the war and said people were being killed “only because President Trump wants to have fun”. He said Iran would keep acting in “self-defence” until Trump accepts that view.
While ruling out talks with Washington for now, Araghchi said Iran was prepared to speak with other countries seeking safe passage for selected oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, saying several states had approached Tehran.
Trump has said Iran wants a deal but that he is not ready to agree because “the terms aren’t good enough yet”, without detailing what those terms would be. He said any deal would include Iran fully abandoning nuclear ambitions.
Last night, March 15, Trump said the United States has been communicating with Iran, adding he did not think Tehran was ready but was “getting pretty close”.
Trump told NBC News he was working with other countries on a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid rising global oil prices. He said several countries had committed to help but did not name them, while writing on Truth Social that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others would send warships to help keep the strait open.
He said it was unclear whether Iran had placed mines there and did not confirm whether the US Navy would escort ships, saying it was “possible”.
NBC reported that US forces carried out strikes on Kharg Island, home to an oil terminal tied to most of Iran’s oil exports. US Central Command said it conducted “precision strikes” on 90 military targets while “preserving the oil infrastructure”, but Trump said Kharg Island was “totally demolished” and added the United States might hit it again “just for fun”, while saying he avoided striking “the energy lines” because rebuilding would take years.
In a written statement, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking US allies in the region, according to the report. U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the younger Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured” and called his written statement a “weak one”, NBC reported.
Araghchi said negotiations had taken place before the strikes and said Trump’s negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were involved. He said Iran offered to dilute enriched uranium as a “big concession” to show it has never wanted nuclear weapons, but said “there is nothing on the table right now” and that any future talks would depend on what Iran decided to offer later.
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