Watch Trump Try to Explain Who He’s Talking to in Iran Talks

President Trump is insisting that the U.S. and Iran have had extensive ceasefire talks—with 15 points of agreement, even—while the Iranian government claims the exact opposite.On Monday morning, just hours before markets opened, the president announced a five-day postponement of U.S. strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. “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,” he wrote on Truth Social. But Iran’s foreign ministry quickly denied the news and claimed that there has been “no dialogue” between the two countries, with one top official adding that Trump “retreated after hearing that our targets would be all power plants in West Asia.” When questioned about Iran’s response later on Monday morning, Trump stuck to his story. “Mr. President, Iran’s foreign ministry says you’re not telling the truth when it comes to productive conversations to end the war,” a reporter asked Trump on the tarmac.“Well, they’re gonna have to get themselves better public relations people. We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn’t been conveyed, their communication as you know has been blown to pieces. They’re unable to talk to each other,” Trump replied. “But we’ve had very strong talks. Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner had them. They went … perfectly. I would say that if they carry through with that it’ll end that problem, that conflict.” Q: Iran's foreign ministry says you're not telling the truth when it comes to productive conversations to end the warTRUMP: Well, they're gonna have to get themselves better public relations people. We've had very strong talks. Mr Witkoff and Kushner had them. They went… pic.twitter.com/zzwlv4aBL5— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2026“Who is Steve Witkoff speaking with, Mr. President?” “A top person. Don’t forget, we wiped out the leadership, phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we’re dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected, and the leader,” Trump said, refusing to name this mystery person inside Iran.“Is that the supreme leader?” a reporter followed up, referring to the new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.“No, not the supreme leader,” Trump replied. “We have not heard from the son. Every once in a while you’ll see a statement made, but we haven’t—we don’t know if he’s living. But the people that seem to be running it … have taken place.” “Can you say who that is? Why not?”“Because I don’t want them to be killed.” Q: Who is Steve Witkoff speaking with in Iran?TRUMP: A top personQ: Who is it?TRUMP: I can't. I don't want them to be killed pic.twitter.com/lKPy8hdyPL— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2026“You said there’s many points of agreement with Iran right now. Can you give us a couple of those?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins later asked.“Many, like 15 points. Fifteen points.... They’re not gonna have a nuclear weapon, that’s number one. That’s number one, two, and three. They will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump replied. “They’ve said yes to that?” “They’ve agreed to that,” Trump replied.Iran has publicly stated for decades that it does not want a nuclear weapon. And in response to Trump’s latest claims, the Iranian government has said no diplomacy is even happening. If they are, the presence of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner certainly doesn’t inspire confidence.