Trump says talks with Iran are going well, offers few details
Iran, however, has denied that any contact between its official and the Trump administration has taken place.
Bernd Debusmann Jr & Anthony ZurcherMonday March 23, 2026
Trump said that both the US and Iran were looking to make a deal, although Tehran has denied talks took place
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In a sudden shift in tone amid Operation Epic Fury, US President Donald Trump has held out the prospect of “good” and “productive” talks with Iran — language that stands out as his most conciliatory since the campaign began, even as it raises fresh doubts about what, if anything, is actually being negotiated.
Before dawn on Monday, and only hours before US markets were set to open, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would pause any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days while talks “continue”. The message came after earlier threats to “obliterate” those targets unless Iran opened the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, however, has denied that any contact between its official and the Trump administration has taken place.
That denial quickly sharpened questions in Washington and beyond: what discussions was Trump describing — and was his announcement also aimed at steadying turbulent global markets?
Speaking later to reporters in Palm Beach, Trump said both sides want to make a deal and argued the US has a “great relationship” with a number of potential Middle East partners, though he did not name them.
He also said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, took part in the talks. Trump did not say who they spoke with, where the discussions were held, or what agenda items were on the table.
Possible subjects range widely, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, limits on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, uranium enrichment, or even a ceasefire — an outcome Trump has previously played down.
Trump’s remarks also sit uneasily alongside his own recent public claims. He has repeatedly told reporters that multiple tiers of Iranian leadership have been wiped out, and at a Friday White House event said it was “hard to find leaders in Iran to talk to because they keep getting killed”.
Yet in a brief phone interview with CNBC reporter Joe Kernen after Monday’s post, Trump said Iran still has representatives left, contradicting those earlier assertions.
He suggested those remaining figures are behaving differently than their predecessors. Kernen said Trump was “insisting” the shift amounts to a form of regime change.
Iran’s flat denial that any talks occurred complicates that storyline for the administration and sets the stage for pointed questions about the White House’s claims.
Adding to the political crosscurrents, an unnamed Iranian source quoted by Fars News Agency — affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — cast Trump’s statement as a win for Tehran, claiming Trump “backed down” after Iran threatened retaliatory strikes on energy infrastructure across the region.
It also remains possible the talk of negotiations is a tactical feint. Last summer, discussions with Iran were reported to be advancing right up until US bombs hit Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer.
Trump, for his part, often tells reporters that his thinking — and his next move — is opaque to almost everyone.
Even without clear evidence of sustained diplomacy, Trump’s Monday message had an immediate effect: US stock market futures rose and global oil prices fell sharply.
What had been shaping up as a bleak day for major economies suddenly carried a sliver of optimism.
The timing of the post — landing just before US markets opened — is also likely to draw scrutiny.
Trump’s warning that Iranian power facilities could be hit by Monday evening, once his deadline expired, had fueled widespread fears of a spiraling escalation.
By pushing action back five days, he has — at least for now — eased those immediate anxieties.
Still, if discussions did occur, key details remain unresolved: how substantive the US-Iran track is, whether US and Israeli airstrikes will continue in other forms, and whether Iran is still restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz — the issue that prompted Trump’s bombing deadline in the first place.
This could mark the first sign of a genuine breakthrough. Or it may reflect a president who, after raising the stakes, is searching for room to maneuver — and time to spare.