Trump continues to signal optimism about Iran talks, despite suspicion from Tehran and doubt in Jerusalem

U.S. President Donald Trump has continued to signal unrestrained optimism regarding the chances of reaching a deal with Tehran to end the war, despite the regime still not having publicly welcomed the talks.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials say they doubt that a deal can truly be reached, against the background of ongoing airstrikes and the continued deployment of U.S. ground troops to the region.

On Tuesday, Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, asserting that the U.S. was bargaining from a position of strength as it had already achieved “regime change” by eliminating several ranks of Iranian leaders.

“We have, really, regime change. This is a change in the regime, because the leaders are all very different than the ones that we started off with that created all those problems,” Trump said.

He also alluded to an unspecified “present” the U.S. received, which he said reassured him that he is dealing with the “right” leaders.

.@POTUS provides an update on discussions amid Operation Epic Fury pic.twitter.com/3P6gH4ku8t

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 24, 2026

“They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money… That meant one thing to me – we're dealing with the right people.”

Responding to questions, he said the gift was “oil-and-gas-related” and related to the Strait of Hormuz, without revealing more details.

“I think we’re going to end it. I can’t tell you for sure. You know, I don’t like to say this – this war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news. … We’ve won this war,” he said, adding that his demands had not changed.

“Number one, two and three is they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon.”

The U.S. has reportedly transmitted a 15-point deal proposal to Tehran via Pakistan. It reportedly outlines demands for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, commit to not resuming it, end support for regional proxy groups, limit its ballistic missile capabilities, and ensure permanent access to the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel's Channel 12 (@yaronavraham) published the Trump Administration's 15-point plan (I counted 14) sent to Iran to end the war:

1. All existing nuclear capabilities will be dismantled.
2. A commitment that Iran will never strive to obtain nuclear weapons.
3. No material will…

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) March 24, 2026

But the Iranian regime has, so far, only signaled suspicion and hesitancy regarding the talks. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed that “no one can rely on American diplomacy. We had a very bad experience with it. In the middle of negotiations, we were subjected to two attacks within nine months.”

Sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the regime sees Trump’s initiative as a ploy. “Twice we sat down with Witkoff and Kushner for talks, twice we scheduled another meeting – and instead of a meeting, we got a war. You lied to us,” an Iranian message conveyed to Washington said, a source familiar with the details told the JPost.

According to the report, the reported involvement of U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the talks – including the possibility of an in-person visit to Pakistan – is intended to signal Washington’s seriousness to regime leaders.

In Israel, officials believe there is a “very small” chance of reaching an agreement due to the wide gap between U.S. and Iranian positions, according to the JPost.

“At the moment, the Iranians are insisting on American compensation, as well as guarantees from the administration that there will be no further action against Iran as part of any agreement,” two sources involved in mediation efforts said.

In addition, there are no signs that the U.S. and Israel are winding down their military operations.

An informed source told the JPost that the deployment of American forces in the Middle East is continuing as usual. U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that leaders in the Pentagon “see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs.”

.@SecWar: "Never has a modern military, been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated, from day one, with overwhelming firepower... that’s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs. You have a choice, as we loiter over the top of… pic.twitter.com/hCP7hpDmqh

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 24, 2026

Trump also noted that Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine were the “only two people” in his administration who “were quite disappointed” at the prospect of a quick end to the war.

“Pete didn’t want it to be settled. These guys are doing a great job. That’s a good attitude though, right?” Trump said about Hegseth and Caine. “They were not interested in settlement. They were interested in just winning this thing.”

Before Trump revealed that negotiations would continue, several reports had suggested the U.S. military could be preparing for an assault on Iran’s Kharg Island. On Sunday, the JPost cited Israeli officials who said they’d been told that “there will probably be no choice but to carry out a ground operation on Kharg Island” by American counterparts.

Meanwhile, two U.S. amphibious ready groups (ARGs) are en route to the region. The ARG, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, is expected to arrive this weekend, accompanied by two amphibious transport docks and carrying some 2,200 Marines. The Tripoli also carries around 20 F-35 fighter jets.

Another ARG led by the USS Boxer is also reportedly on its way, carrying a similar number of Marines, jets and equipment.

In addition, the U.S. Army is expected to send some 1,000 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division to the region, CNN reported.