Trump says Iran negotiating but ‘afraid to say it’
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Donald Trump has again criticised Nato countries, accusing them of doing “absolutely nothing” to help his war with Iran.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning, Trump said Iran had been “militarily decimated”, but added that the US “needs nothing from Nato”.
It comes as Iran and Israel continued to exchange barrages of missile and drone strikes hours after Trump claimed the US was negotiating peace with Iran’s leadership, but that Tehran was “afraid” to admit as much due to fears of being “killed by their own people”.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV, however, that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”
Using Pakistan as an intermediary, Washington has delivered to Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal, which includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s 15-point proposal, sent through Pakistan, calls for removing Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile program, and cutting off funding for regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.
Russia sending drones to Iran to help war effort, western intelligence says
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 11:00
Iran allowing Malaysian vessels to pass in Strait, PM says
Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday he had spoken to the leaders of Iran, Egypt, Turkey and other regional countries and said Malaysian vessels were now being allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Anwar in a televised address thanked Iran’s president for allowing the passage of the vessels.
He also said Malaysia’s government would maintain the price of subsidised oil.
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:59
Trump claims Iran ‘begging to make a deal’
In a further Truth Social post this morning, the US president said: “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.” 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!”
Daniel Haygarth26 March 2026 10:48
Watch: Russia ‘almost certainly’ trained and gave intelligence to Iran ahead of conflict, says UK defence secretary
Russia ‘almost certainly’ trained and gave intelligence to Iran ahead of conflict, says Healey
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:45
Israel says it has killed the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy
Israel said on Thursday it had killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy, the key official overseeing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he had been killed with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight. Iran did not immediately acknowledge Tangsiri’s killing.
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:43
Recap: Iran denies engaging in talks to end war
Using Pakistan as an intermediary, Washington has delivered to Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal, which includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump, speaking at a fundraiser on Wednesday night in Washington, insisted that Iran still wants to make a deal to halt the conflict.
“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump said.
However, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state television that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”
Araghchi said the US had tried to send messages to Iran through other nations, “but that is not a conversation nor a negotiation.”
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:40
Trump confirms May visit to China after Iran war forces delay to landmark trip
Donald Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on 14-15 May, more than a month later than initially planned.
The US president was scheduled to visit China on 31 March but postponed the trip after launching a war against Iran jointly with Israel.
The forthcoming visit will be the first to China by a US president in almost a decade.
“I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I’m sure, a Monumental Event,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform after announcing the new dates.
James Reynolds26 March 2026 10:30
Trump slams Nato nations again
US president Donald Trump (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The president has said Nato countries have “done nothing” to help the US in this war.
Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning: “NATO NATIONS HAVE DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP WITH THE LUNATIC NATION, NOW MILITARILY DECIMATED, OF IRAN. THE U.S.A. NEEDS NOTHING FROM NATO, BUT “NEVER FORGET” THIS VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN TIME!”
Daniel Haygarth26 March 2026 10:21
UK to urge Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Yvette Cooper (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
On Thursday, UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper will urge Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as she travels to the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in France.
She will make clear that the UK will help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait and provide an additional £2m in humanitarian aid to Lebanon.
Cooper is expected to hold talks with counterparts including US secretary of state Marco Rubio, France’s Jean-Noel Barrot, and Germany’s Johann Wadephul.
The Strait remained closed on Wednesday, despite Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claiming it was open to “non-hostile” shipping.
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:20
John Healey: Government does not believe Iran has any plans to attack the UK
Defence secretary John Healey (PA Wire)
Britain’s defence secretary said that the government does not believe Iran has any plans to attack the UK, but declined to rule out that the country has the capability to do so.
Asked repeatedly on Sky News whether Iran could reach London with missile strikes, John Healey said: “We have no assessment of Iranian plans to strike London.”
Pressed further on whether the country has the capability to do so, he said: “What I’m saying, and trying to reassure people is, that we’ve got no assessment that Iran has any plans to attack.
“But we have the resources, we have the alliance in place to be able to defend Britain, and we do that with allies, and we do that with Nato.
“As far as Iran goes, they’re demonstrating a capacity to hit across the Middle East, we see the same tactics and technologies that we see employed by Russia in Ukraine, and this is the hidden hand of Putin in both conflicts.
“I’m releasing today our latest defence intelligence assessment, which says that Russia was almost certainly providing training, sharing intelligence with Iran ahead of this conflict, including on types of drones, including on electronic warfare, and whilst Putin may want us to be distracted by the Middle East, we’re determined that we won’t be.”
Dan Haygarth26 March 2026 10:15
