The Hill
Iran says it’s not in negotiations with the US, ‘Trump backed down’
Ashleigh Fields
Mon, March 23, 2026 at 7:13 AM PDT
A senior Iranian security official on Monday said Tehran is not in talks with President Trump, adding that Trump “backed down” from further attacks on energy infrastructure due to pressure from the markets and allies.
“Trump backed down from attacking critical infrastructure as Iran’s military threats became credible. Financial market pressure and the threat of bonds within the U.S. and the West have increased, and this has been another important factor in this retreat,” the senior official told Iran’s Fars News Agency in translated remarks.
The comments follow Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will pause strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days.
The president said Monday on Truth Social the decision followed “in depth, detailed and constructive conversations” with counterparts in Iran, adding that talks would carry on “throughout the week.”
However, the senior Iranian official said Tehran will continue to defend itself until “we achieve the necessary deterrence.”
“There has not been and is not any negotiation underway, and with this type of psychological warfare, neither will the Strait of Hormuz return to its pre-war conditions, nor will there be peace in the energy markets,” the official added.
“Trump’s five-day ultimatum means the continuation of this regime’s program of crimes against the people, and we will continue to hold accountable and defend the country extensively,” he added.
The president responded to Iran’s claims on Monday while aboard Air Force One.
“They have to get themselves better on public relations people. We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have points of major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn’t been conveyed. The communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They’re unable to talk to each other, but we’ve had very strong talks,” he told reporters.
“They want very much to make a deal. We’d like to make a deal too. We’re going to get together today by probably phone, because it’s very hard to find a country. It’s very hard for them to get out, I guess,” he continued. “But we’ll, at some point, very, very soon, meet. We’re doing a five day period. We’ll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we’re going to end up with settling this. Otherwise, we’ll just keep bombing our little hearts out.”
Trump did not name the leader he was negotiating with but confirmed that it was not the newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Updated at 12:30 p.m. EDT
