Trump Claims Iran Wants Deal as Fighting Continues After Month of Conflict

President Trump asserts Iranian leaders desperately want to negotiate an end to nearly four weeks of fighting, while Iran's foreign minister denies any formal talks are taking place. The conflict has created a global energy crisis with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, causing worldwide fuel shortages and economic disruption.

President Donald Trump claims Iranian leadership is eager to negotiate an end to almost four weeks of warfare, while Tehran’s top diplomat maintains his nation is only examining a U.S. ceasefire proposal without engaging in actual negotiations.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi clarified during a Wednesday state television appearance that while various communications have passed through third-party nations, Iran has not entered into formal discussions with the United States.

“Messages being conveyed through our friendly countries and us responding by stating our positions or issuing the necessary warnings is not called negotiation or dialogue,” Araqchi explained. “It is simply an exchange of messages through our friends.”

Speaking at a Washington event later Wednesday, Trump countered that Iranian officials “are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they will be killed by their own people. They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us.”

The president has not revealed which Iranian representatives the U.S. might be communicating with, as thousands of high-ranking officials have perished across the Middle East since the conflict began February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation against Israel, American bases, and Gulf nations.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in an Israeli attack on the first day of hostilities and was succeeded by his son Mojtaba, who has been injured in subsequent strikes and has not appeared publicly since taking power.

The warfare’s consequences have created unprecedented global disruption, triggering what experts call the most severe energy crisis in recorded history.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows, has sparked fuel shortages worldwide. Industries from aviation to retail and automotive are facing mounting costs, declining demand, and broken supply chains, prompting some nations to consider emergency measures similar to those implemented during the COVID pandemic.

Agricultural producers cannot obtain adequate diesel fuel for equipment, and the World Food Programme projects tens of millions more people could experience severe hunger if hostilities extend into June.

According to three Israeli cabinet sources, a 15-point American ceasefire proposal delivered through Pakistan demands Iran eliminate its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, cease enrichment activities, restrict its ballistic missile programs, and end financial support for regional partners.

The White House refused to reveal details of its offer while warning of escalated military action.

“If they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily, and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced to reporters.

Israeli defense officials expressed doubt Iran would accept the proposed conditions and worry U.S. negotiators might offer concessions. Israel seeks to maintain its ability to launch preemptive attacks under any future agreement, according to a second source.

Iran has communicated through intermediaries that any ceasefire arrangement must include Lebanon, six regional sources familiar with Tehran’s stance reported.

Market optimism about potential conflict resolution that had lifted global stocks earlier this week diminished Thursday, with oil prices climbing again.

“Optimism regarding a ceasefire has faded,” noted Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.

Military operations continued across the Gulf region as Israeli forces announced completion of extensive infrastructure strikes throughout Iran on Thursday, following additional attacks Wednesday.

Admiral Brad Cooper, Central Command chief overseeing U.S. Middle East operations, reported American forces have struck more than 10,000 Iranian targets and are successfully limiting Iran’s ability to project power beyond its borders.

Cooper stated in a Wednesday video briefing that 92% of Iran’s major naval vessels have been destroyed and drone and missile launch capabilities have dropped over 90%. Combined U.S.-Israeli operations have damaged or destroyed two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone, and naval manufacturing facilities and shipyards, Cooper added.

Pentagon officials are preparing to deploy thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf region, providing Trump additional options for potential ground operations, sources told Reuters. This would supplement two Marine contingents already en route, with the first amphibious assault unit expected to arrive by month’s end.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the “world is staring down the barrel of a wider war” in the region.

“It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder,” he declared at U.N. headquarters in New York.