Major blooper moment caught on camera! Iran's military responds to Trump: Are you negotiating with yourself?

Source: JIN10 Data

On Wednesday, Israel and Iran launched airstrikes against each other. At the same time, Iran’s military rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the United States is using negotiations to end the war that has disrupted energy and financial markets, saying outright that the United States is “staging negotiations.”

At the very moment when Iran’s armed forces joint command, led by the hardline elite Revolutionary Guards, clearly refused talks, reports said that the United States had sent Tehran a 15-point plan for discussion.

Iranian Joint Chiefs of Staff chief spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari mocked on a program on Iranian state television:

“The era you (the U.S.) promised is over. Have your inner struggles reached the point where you have to negotiate with yourselves—where you (Trump) and yourself negotiate? People like us can never get together with people like you. As we’ve always said… People like us will never deal with you. Not now. Never.”

Iran’s leadership had previously said they cannot negotiate with the United States because, during the high-level talks in the past two years, Washington carried out attacks against the country twice.

Trump had said he was optimistic, believing that an agreement is just around the corner, and said that U.S. Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio “are currently in negotiations,” but the Tehran side has not confirmed any talks so far, saying only that the news was passed through intermediaries.

In an interview with Today India on Tuesday, Ismail Bagayi, spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Iran has had a “very bad experience” with U.S. diplomacy. He added that there was no dialogue or negotiations between Tehran and Washington because the Iranian armed forces’ current focus is on defending the country.

The war, now in its fourth week, has caused the deaths of thousands, sparked the most severe energy shock in history, and ignited global fears of inflation. As of Wednesday, there are still no signs that the airstrikes between Iran and Israel will be calmed.

Israel’s military posted that it had launched a round of strikes against infrastructure across Tehran. It then said that its air force hit two naval cruise missile production bases in Tehran.

According to Iran’s semi-official SNN news agency, the airstrike hit a residential neighborhood in the city, and rescue workers are conducting search-and-rescue operations among the rubble.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they repelled a new round of drone attacks, but did not disclose where the drones came from. Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said a drone strike hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire, but did not result in any casualties.

According to Iranian state media, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said they launched a new round of attacks on locations in Israel such as Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as U.S. military bases located in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the White House that the United States is “negotiating” with “the right people” in Iran to end the war and added that Iranians are very eager to reach an agreement.

On Wednesday, influenced by reports that the U.S. is seeking a month-long ceasefire and has already sent Iran a 15-point plan for discussion, the stock market rose and oil prices fell, rekindling hopes for the restoration of oil exports from the Persian Gulf.

The rumored 15-point plan sent to Iran is revealed

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12, citing three officials, said the U.S. is seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss this plan.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the U.S. indeed sent a plan to Iran, but did not provide further details.

The Israeli media said the plan would include dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, stopping support for proxy organizations such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, citing that negotiations intended to end Iran’s nuclear program failed to make sufficient progress, despite Oman—acting as a mediator—saying that the talks had achieved major breakthroughs. The U.S. attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.

Since the U.S. launched “Operation Epic Fury” in February, Iran has already attacked countries hosting U.S. military bases, struck energy infrastructure in the Gulf region, and effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz—this “major artery” that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transport.

According to a document seen by foreign media, Iran has informed the UN Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that, if coordinated with Iranian authorities, “non-hostile vessels” may be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

This waterway, which normally handles 20% of global oil and gas transportation, has been effectively locked down, causing the most severe energy supply shock in history. It has not only sent fuel prices soaring, but also seriously disrupted the global aviation industry.

In Asia, at the front line of this fuel crisis, the region has purchased more than 80% of the crude oil that transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Governments across Asia are scrambling to deal with fuel shortages and have rolled out forced work-from-home measures as well as various stimulus measures that were used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries have even announced public holiday closures and shut down schools.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release a record-breaking roughly 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to respond to the crisis. According to a Reuters report, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday, during a meeting with IEA executive director Fatih Birol, asked for further releases of oil reserves.

Pakistan proposes hosting U.S.-Iran talks

On Tuesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he is willing to host negotiations between the United States and Iran on ending the war. The day before, Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, citing so-called “productive” talks.

Pakistan has long-standing ties with Iran and has been working to build a relationship with Trump.

Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that despite reports of negotiations, the Pentagon is still expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, further expanding the large U.S. deployment in the region.

The troops will join the 50k U.S. soldiers already stationed in the region, accelerating Washington’s large-scale military buildup on the ground and further intensifying concerns that the conflict could become prolonged.

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