Day 25 of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran produced its sharpest diplomatic contradiction yet: President Trump told reporters that the United States and Iran are in active peace negotiations "right now," saying Tehran "wants to make a deal so badly" — and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Council responded within hours, calling Trump a "deceitful American president" and his statements "fake news" and "a big lie." The simultaneous public signals from the two sides are creating genuine confusion among allied governments, financial markets, and the 2,000-plus civilians already killed in the conflict.
Trump, speaking to reporters on March 24, said Iran had sent the United States "a very significant prize" as a gesture of good faith but declined to elaborate on what that was. He described the five-day pause in planned strikes on Iranian power plants — announced earlier this week — as evidence that talks were "good and productive." He also acknowledged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was "quite disappointed" by the ceasefire extension, adding that "Pete didn't want it to be settled." Trump's approval rating has fallen to 36% in the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll — the lowest of his second term — driven by rising consumer prices and majority public opposition to the Iran war.
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