Donald Trump insists Iran wants a deal as more US troops head to the Middle East
Updated ,first published
New York: The United States is preparing to send thousands more troops to the Middle East even as it hinted at progress in peace talks with Iran and heralded a “very large gift” allegedly received from Iranian negotiators as a goodwill gesture from President Donald Trump.
In another day of mixed signals as the war approached its four-week mark, Trump said Iran wanted a “very bad” deal and confirmed it was now interested in a ceasefire; This is a reversal from just a few days ago.
It was also revealed that the US, before possible face-to-face talks this week, conveyed to Iran through intermediaries a 15-point peace plan that largely reflects the Trump administration’s previous demands towards Tehran.
However, Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster quoted an unnamed official on Wednesday as saying that Iran had rejected America’s 15-point ceasefire proposal.
Iran was still making maximalist and unrealistic demands, including the closure of all American bases in the Gulf and the right to continue its missile program without restriction. Wall StreetJournal reported. There were also unconfirmed reports that Iran was seeking negotiations with Vice President J.D. Vance, whose skepticism about military action against Iran has been widely expressed.
The Iranian regime has also continued to taunt the United States with propaganda, releasing another Lego-style animated video on Wednesday showing Iran retaliating against a U.S. missile attack on a girls’ school; This is an apparent reference to the US shooting at the Shajereh Tayyebeh primary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war, killing at least 165 people.
The 84-second video supposedly ends with bombs raining down on American cities and Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump crying in the situation room next to a US soldier and a horned demon named Baal.
Earlier this month, Iranian state media shared another Lego-like video featuring caricatures of Trump, Netanyahu and Satan looking at the Epstein files, and again of an angry Trump reacting by pushing a big red button to launch a missile at a school.
He also shared an emoji-heavy animated movie called “Lord of the Straits” that claimed they angered Trump by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Iranian military used his own slogan to mock Trump: “Hey Trump, you’re fired. You’re familiar with this phrase. Thank you for your interest in this matter.”
Trump spoke cryptically on Tuesday (US time) about an alleged gift the Iranians gave during the talks. “They did something amazing yesterday,” he said. “They gave us a gift and the gift arrived today.
“It was a very large gift worth an enormous amount of money. I won’t tell you what the gift was, but it was a very significant reward.”
He later said the concession was related to transporting oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping passage that has been effectively closed because Iran closely controls which ships are allowed through.
Trump said the gift was “a very nice thing” and showed him that the United States was “dealing with the right people.” Special envoy Steve Witkoff and his team, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, are believed to have met with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and his associates.
Analysts pointed out that Trump’s desire to declare victory and make a deal has increased and questioned whether a productive agreement with the Iranian regime is possible.
Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies, told X: “Washington still can’t understand Iran or where it’s going.”
“Trump now faces three options: accept Iran’s terms, withdraw from negotiations, or settle for an empty framework that allows him to end the war without solving anything.”
It was also unclear whether the ceasefire would be supported by US allies and partners in the region. Israel, which says it is not a party to the talks, has a clear goal of destroying the Iranian regime. Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are reportedly pressuring Iran to further weaken its war capacity.
Trump actually argued that the regime had already been changed. “The leaders are all very different from the leaders who created all these problems to begin with,” he said. “I guess we could say this is regime change.”
Iran’s new religious leader is claimed to be Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of assassinated religious leader Ali Khamenei, but he has not been seen in public since taking office and has not provided proof of life.
It was widely reported on Tuesday night (US time) that thousands of soldiers from the US military’s elite 82nd Airborne Division were being deployed to the Middle East. Reports stated that the number of soldiers varied between 1000 and 4000 and it was not clear whether they would be deployed to Iran.
However, analysts pointed out that the decision to send troops in addition to the US naval forces already heading to the region contradicts claims of progress towards the agreement.
“Trump’s decision to postpone attacks on Iranian power plants should not be read as de-escalation,” said Arash Reisinezhad, a visiting assistant professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. “This could serve to stabilize markets and contain oil shocks, but also to buy time for military positioning.”
Pakistan is shaping up as an important intermediary in potential negotiations between the United States and Iran. It turned out that the addressee was Asım Münir, the country’s chief of general staff, who visited Trump at the White House last year.
The price of Brent crude fell again on Tuesday on signals that a deal to end the war (or at least US participation) was nearing.
But other than Trump’s remarks at a news conference in the Oval Office, the White House has been reluctant to confirm any details about negotiations with Iran.
“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the press,” Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “This is a fluid situation and speculation about meetings should not be considered final until formally announced by the White House.”
The ongoing build-up of US troops in the region was not the only sign that the war might escalate rather than die down. Israel has bombed several targets in southern Lebanon, killing nine people, adding to the death toll in that country that already exceeds 1,000, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israel also outlined plans to occupy a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, after bombing bridges spanning a key river that would serve as a new border line.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he met with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and emphasized that Iran should stop its “unacceptable attacks” against regional countries and restore free movement in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I called on Iran to participate in negotiations in good faith to pave the way for de-escalation and to create a framework that can meet the international community’s expectations regarding Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as its destabilizing regional activities,” Macron said.
David Crowe, staff reporter and with agencies
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
