‘US and Israel are trapped’: Iran trashes Trump’s ‘negotiation’ claims, vows crushing punishment

Hours after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure on Monday (March 23), Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed reports of negotiations with the United States as "fake news" and asserted that the "Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors".

"No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is being used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," Ghalibaf said in a post on X, adding, "All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved".

Speaking to reporters at Palm Beach, Trump claimed that the United States and Iran had reached ‘major points of agreement’ and confirmed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the talks. He declined to identify the Iranian counterpart in detail, describing the individual only as a respected leader and clarifying that it was not Mojtaba Khamenei.

“They want very much to make a deal. We’d like to make a deal too,” Trump said, adding that more phone discussions were expected on Monday, with a face-to-face meeting anticipated soon. He also outlined a short timeline for progress, stating, “We’re doing a five-day period, we’ll see how that goes. If it goes well, we’re going to end up settling this. Otherwise, we’ll just keep bombing our little hearts out.”

However, Iran has categorically denied these assertions, saying Tehran did not have any negotiations with the United States.

This series of claims and counterclaims from Washington and Tehran was set off by Trump’s social media post, in which he announced a five-day postponement of all planned military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

Notably, the US President underlined that the instruction to the Department of War is contingent upon the continued success of these detailed and constructive meetings, which are scheduled to continue throughout the week.

“I am pleased to report that the United States of America and the country of Iran have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions,” he added.

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