Trump insists Iran is negotiating with US, but 'they're afraid to say it'

US President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday, March 25, that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran's denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side. Trump has in recent days repeatedly claimed progress in talks with Iran, even as Tehran denied any formal negotiations were taking place. "They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress. "But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," he said. "They're also afraid they'll be killed by us." The Islamic republic's top diplomat slapped down Trump's comments, saying the country did not intend to negotiate. "We seek an end to the war on our own terms, of course, and in a way that it will not be repeated here again," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV. "At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance," Araghchi said on state TV, adding: "We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled." "Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat," he said. 'Iran should not miscalculate again' Pakistani officials earlier said Islamabad had conveyed to Tehran an American 15-point plan to stop the fighting that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran and has since engulfed the region. According to the New York Times, citing anonymous officials, the American 15-point plan touches on Iran's contested nuclear and missile programs, as well as "maritime routes." Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices. Yet Iran's state-controlled Press TV cited an unidentified official saying Tehran had "responded negatively" to the proposal. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell" on Iran if no deal is struck. The ramped-up rhetoric dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation, as the violence on the ground showed no sign of abating after almost four weeks. "If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment (...) Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a new briefing. "President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again," she said, while adding that "talks continue." Iran sets five conditions Iranian officials reported that Tehran has put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end. These include ending "aggression and assassinations" against the country and its leaders, setting up a robust mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the US will resume the war, as well as compensation for the destruction caused. Iran's conditions also include a cessation of hostilities on all regional fronts and against all "resistance groups" – an implicit reference to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Tehran also wants international recognition and guarantees of Iran's rights to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. 'Damaged or destroyed' Meanwhile, the US has hit two-thirds of Iran's production facilities for missiles and drones, and a similar proportion of its naval production, a top officer said Wednesday. In a video posted on X, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, also estimated that 92% of the Iranian navy's largest vessels had been damaged or destroyed. "And my operational assessment is that they've now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world." With the war now in its fourth week, he added that "we remain on plan or ahead of plan in achieving very clear objectives" for the war launched with Israel. "We have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran's missile drone and naval production facilities and shipyards, and we're not done yet," he said, adding that US forces had now struck over 10,000 military targets. Iran has retaliated for the US and Israeli strikes by launching missiles at targets throughout the Gulf almost daily. But Cooper said that Iran's drone and missile launch rates were down by 90%, and "we've also removed the regime's ability to rebuild them." As the human and economic cost of the fighting mounts, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war was "out of control." "The conflict has broken past the limits even leaders thought imaginable," he told reporters. "The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering and a deeper global economic shock. This has gone too far." On the ground, there was no let-up in the hostilities, with targets in Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire. Red Sea threat Speculation in Iran of a possible US invasion of an Iranian island led to stark warnings of more violence and a further squeeze on ship traffic. "Based on some intelligence reports, Iran's enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional states," Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in an X post. Should that happen, "all the vital infrastructure of that regional state will be targeted with relentless, unceasing attacks," he said. Trump is moving thousands of airborne troops and extra marines to the Gulf amid speculation that he might order a ground invasion to either seize Iranian oil assets in the Gulf or secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz. One possible target is Kharg Island, which handles almost all of Iran's crude exports. Trump has called it a "little oil island that sits there, so totally unprotected." Dismantling Hezbollah It remains unclear whether Israel is on board with America's diplomatic overture. While striking targets in Iran on Wednesday, Israel kept up its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli warplanes pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,000 people have been killed in over three weeks of Israeli strikes and upwards of one million people have been displaced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that dismantling Hezbollah "remains central" to Israel's objectives in Lebanon. Hormuz Strait 'closed only to enemies' With the war sending energy prices soaring, fueling fears of higher inflation and weaker global growth, markets remained focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz was "closed only to enemies," with the Middle East war having all but shut the vital oil and gas shipping route. "The Strait of Hormuz, from our perspective, is not completely closed it is closed only to enemies," Araghchi said on state TV, adding: "There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass." He said Tehran's armed forces had already "provided safe passage" for ships from friendly nations.