Dubai/Tel Aviv/Washington: President Donald Trump asserted that Iranian leaders are eager for a deal to halt nearly four weeks of intense conflict, a claim dismissed by Iran’s foreign minister, who confirmed review of a US proposal but ruled out any direct talks.
These divergent positions surfaced as the war’s economic and humanitarian burdens intensified worldwide, with fuel shortages triggering urgent responses from businesses and governments, Reuters reported.
In an interview on Iranian state television, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi clarified that while intermediaries have relayed messages between Tehran and Washington, this does not constitute negotiation. “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,” Araghchi said.
Trump later offered a starkly different view on Wednesday during a public event in Washington. He stated that Iranian leaders “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 did not disclose the identities of any Iranian counterparts in these alleged discussions, amid the deaths of thousands — including numerous senior officials — across the Middle East since the fighting began.
The hostilities ignited on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran. Tehran retaliated with strikes on Israel, American military bases, and Gulf states. Among the early casualties was Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in an initial Israeli airstrike.
Meanwhile, the conflict has unleashed the most severe energy disruption in modern history, rippling far outside the region.
The Strait of Hormuz — a vital passage for one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies — remains effectively shuttered. This has upended operations for airlines, supermarkets, used car dealerships, and more, driving up costs, eroding consumer demand, and fracturing supply chains. In response, several governments are contemplating emergency aid packages reminiscent of those deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company CEO Sultan Al Jaber lashed out at for the Strait of Hormuz blockade. “When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy,” Al Jaber said. “No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever,” he said
A 15-point US ceasefire proposal, relayed via Pakistan, demands reopening the strait, dismantling Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, halting its ballistic missile programme, and severing funds to regional proxies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources.
The White House withheld details. A senior Israeli defence official expressed doubt over Iran’s acceptance, fearing US concessions, while a second source stressed preserving Israel’s pre-emptive strike rights. Iran, per six regional sources, insists Lebanon join any deal.
Ceasefire optimism that lifted stocks on Wednesday evaporated on Thursday, with oil prices surging anew.
“Optimism regarding a ceasefire has faded,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.
High gas prices, weak markets, and Trump’s record-low 36% approval — with 61% of Americans opposing strikes per a Reuters/Ipsos poll (March 20-23) — pile pressure ahead of November midterms and as the war risks slipping beyond control.
Military action intensified on Thursday with ongoing missile and drone exchanges. Israel reported completing major strikes on Iranian infrastructure after Wednesday’s waves and intercepting Iranian missiles.
US Central Command’s Admiral Brad Cooper, in a Wednesday video briefing, said strikes hit over 10,000 targets, destroying 92% of Iran’s largest naval vessels, slashing drone/missile launches by over 90%, and wrecking two-thirds of its production sites and shipyards.
