Trump insists Iran wants to make peace deal but is ‘afraid to say it’

Published March 25, 2026 10:18pm ET



President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday night that negotiations with Iran to end the war continue despite the Iranian leadership claiming no such talks were taking place. 

Speaking to Republicans at the annual Republican National Congressional Committee fundraising dinner, Trump said Iran’s leaders want to make a deal “badly” to end the U.S. military campaign in the Middle Eastern country but are afraid to say so because “they figure they’ll be killed by their own people.”

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