President Donald Trump said in a post on Thursday on Truth Social is calling for Iranian leaders to engage “before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NOT TURNING BACK.”
“The Iranian negotiators are very different and “strange.” They are “begging” us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only looking at our proposal, Trump wrote. WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”
Trump’s post came a day after he claimed a deal is near. He said again Thursday that Iran is “‘begging’ us to make a deal” after the U.S. pitched a 15-point ceasefire plan that Iran rejected.
The Associated Press reported Iran and the United States seemed at odds on Thursday as both sides issued different statements over the progress of efforts to end the war, with Tehran introducing its own proposals even as its military fired missiles at Israel.
First aid responders are seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Abbas Fakih / AFP via Getty Images)
Two officials from Pakistan described the 15-point U.S. proposal broadly, saying it included sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is normally shipped.
According to the AP, the death toll from the Iran war has risen to more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 people in Lebanon, with dozens more killed in Israel and elsewhere in the region. Thirteen US. military members have died. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
Here’s the latest from Thursday.
Pakistan’s top diplomat says ‘US-Iran indirect talks are taking place’
7:05 a.m. ET: Pakistan’s top diplomat says that indirect talks between the United States and Iran are still ongoing, even as Washington and Tehran offer opposing proposals.
The comment by Ishaq Dar mark the first time Islamabad has publicly acknowledged being the channel by which the two countries were negotiating.
“US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan,” Dar wrote on X.
He said Egypt and Turkey, as well as other countries, are working to back the talks.
Oil prices remain high
Big picture view:
The news of potential negotiations drove down the price of oil. Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading around $100 a barrel Wednesday, after nearing as high as $120 earlier last week. That’s still up around 35% from the start of the war.
Economists and leaders have warned of far-reaching effects if energy prices remain high — from rising prices on food and other basics to higher rates for mortgages and auto loans.
Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but has said no ships from the U.S., Israel or countries seen as linked to them can pass
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from San Jose and Washington, D.C.