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U.S. President Donald Trump used a televised cabinet meeting to try to sell Americans on the merits of the nearly four-week-old war against Iran, while downplaying its impact on the economy and the cost of living.
During Thursday’s meeting at the White House, Trump called on several members of his cabinet to give their pitch about the justification for the war, the U.S. military’s success in striking Iranian targets, and the prospects of negotiating a deal for Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.
Trump says the U.S. has the upper hand in the talks as a result of the joint bombing campaign being carried out with Israel against the Islamic regime in Iran.
“They are begging to make a deal. Not me. They’re begging to make it,” he said. “The reason they want to make a deal is they have been just beat to shit.”
Trump also lashed out at media reports on the state of the negotiations.
“I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal,” Trump added. “I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care.”
White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks during Thursday’s meeting of Trump’s cabinet. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, confirmed earlier media reports that he has provided Iran “a 15-point action list that forms the framework of a peace deal” designed to end the war on the Trump administration’s terms.
The aim of the talks is to “convince Iran that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction,” Witkoff said.
Iran has publicly rejected the 15-point-plan.
Cabinet members praise Trump
During the meeting, members of the cabinet took turns heaping praise on Trump.
“This is stuff for the history books,” said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. “Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear armed Iran.”
Trump’s “policy of peace through strength is the most effective tool for a diplomatic resolution here,” said Witkoff.
WATCH | Trump calls Iran ‘lousy fighters, but they’re great negotiators’:
Trump says Iran ‘begging’ for deal as Iran says no negotiations happening
U.S. President Donald Trump continues to insist that Iran wants to reach a peace deal while Iran insists otherwise. Pakistan’s foreign minister has said his country is facilitating indirect communication between the U.S. and Iran.
“Iran is looking for an off ramp following your powerful threat on Saturday,” Witkoff said, referring to Trump’s threat to bomb Iran’s power plants unless the regime opened the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump backed off on that threat earlier this week, saying negotiations with Tehran had been “good and productive.”
On Thursday afternoon, Trump gave Iran a further extension of the deadline to comply. In a social media post, he said he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction” until April 6, which is 10 days from now.
Oil and gas prices up
Despite the upbeat tone of the more than 90-minute-long cabinet meeting, there were few signs Thursday of an imminent end to the war or its economic impacts.
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose Thursday morning by more than 4 per cent over the previous day.
The U.S. national average price of gas hovered just below the $4 US per gallon mark, up $1 since the war began.
Still, Trump tried to minimize what the war is doing to the U.S. economy.
“We have so much oil, our country is not affected by this,” he said, despite the evidence to the contrary.
“I thought the oil prices would go up more, and I thought the stock market would go down more. It hasn’t been nearly as severe as I thought,” he said.
The price rise is largely a result of Iran effectively shutting off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
On Thursday, Trump revealed that what he had earlier this week described as a ‘big present” from Iran was permission for 10 oil tankers to make their way through the strait.
Before the war, roughly 100 ships passed through the strait each day, many of them oil tankers.
WATCH | Talk of regime change has dwindled since early days of Iran war:
Why regime change in Iran was never in the cards | About That
Although the U.S. and Israel claim several wins in their war against Iran’s military, the messaging from the start of the war about achieving regime change has fizzled out. Andrew Chang explains how Iran’s deeply entrenched power structure and military strategy make its leadership so difficult to replace. Images provided by The Canadian Press, Adobe Stock, Reuters and Getty Images
CORRECTION (March 26, 2026): An earlier version of this upload included an incorrect title for Dana Stroul. It has been replaced.
Control of the strait is Iran’s biggest point of leverage in the war and getting it reopened has now become one of the Trump administration’s key objectives.
Trump said eight of the ships were from Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator in the indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Trump described the negotiations as giving Iran a chance to make a deal “to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions” and chart a new path forward.
WATCH | Trump again delays ultimatum to strike Iran power grid:
Trump says no U.S. strikes on Iranian power plants for 10 days
While again demanding Iran make a deal to end the war, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 10-day pause in U.S. strikes against Iranian power plants after earlier threatening to destroy them if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened to shipping.
“We’ll see if they want to do it,” Trump said. “If they don’t, we’re their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away unimpeded.”
Trump again claimed the U.S. is ahead of schedule on the four-to six-week timeline estimated for the war at its outset.
Should the conflict continue, it will hit the four-week mark on Saturday.
