Fresh confusion surrounds possible U.S.-Iran talks after Trump claimed backchannel discussions are underway, while Iranian officials and IRGC-linked outlets dismissed the reports as market manipulation and disinformation.
BY PC Bureau
March 23, 2026: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday, March 23, that Washington is in contact with a senior figure inside Iran whom he described as “the real leader” and “the most respected” person in the country.
At the same time, Trump made clear he was not referring to Mojtaba Khamenei, who has often been mentioned as a possible future leader of the Islamic Republic. Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “No one has heard from him, and we don’t know if he is alive or not.”
According to Israel’s Channel 11, Israeli sources believe the person now in contact with the United States from within Iran’s political establishment is Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Asked again about Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump repeated that he did not view him as Iran’s current leader, saying once more that no one had heard from him and that his status remained unclear.
Trump responded to Iran’s denial of talks, saying, “It’s hard to get any information there because of the U.S. blowing up their infrastructure,” and claiming envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks “last night.” pic.twitter.com/T0o16E0IzO
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 23, 2026
Speaking in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump also claimed the United States had been prepared to strike Iran’s largest power plants, but that the operation was halted after, in his words, “they called and they want to make a deal.”
So far, officials of the Islamic Republic have not formally confirmed any such negotiations. Media outlets affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have rejected the claim that talks are underway, suggesting Trump’s remarks are aimed at influencing the oil and stock markets.
READ: No Talks, No Retreat: Iran Pushes Back on Trump’s Negotiation Claim
READ: End of Iran War? Trump Says US-Iran Talks Underway, Delays Strikes For Five Days
Trump said Special Representative Steve Witkoff had been in contact with a senior Iranian official, though he declined to identify the person and again stressed that it was not Mojtaba Khamenei.
He also said the United States was not seeking to eliminate the opposing side, but that it had already targeted Iran’s “leadership ranks.” According to Trump, key elements of a possible agreement have already been outlined, and discussions that began on Sunday are expected to continue.
Trump added that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the contacts. After earlier announcing a five-day pause in strikes on Iran’s energy and power infrastructure, he now claims Iran has agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons.
He further stated that Washington wants direct access to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. “If we reach an agreement, we will go in ourselves and get it,” Trump said.
Asked whether Israel would accept such an arrangement, Trump replied, “I think so. Israel will be happy with what we achieve.”
He warned that if negotiations failed, the United States would “continue bombing with everything we have.” But if talks moved forward, he said, the crisis could be resolved, the Strait of Hormuz could reopen, and oil prices could fall sharply.
Trump also suggested that recent developments, including the deaths of several senior Iranian officials, point to a shift in power inside Iran. He said the United States is now dealing with what he called “reasonable” figures and claimed Washington has placed 15 demands on the table, including a complete end to any path toward nuclear weapons. He also floated the idea that control over the Strait of Hormuz could be managed “jointly.”
Israeli media reports that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been involved in talks with Trump’s envoys were swiftly denied by Ghalibaf himself.
In posts on social media, Ghalibaf rejected the claims outright. While some online critics accused him of allegedly acting behind the back of Iran’s leadership, others said the report was part of an Israeli disinformation effort meant to sow confusion inside Iran and complicate any possible U.S.-Iran channel at a moment when speculation over talks and hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are running high.
“The Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors. All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X.
He added: “No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fake news is being used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped.”
Earlier in the day, Trump had said the United States was speaking to “a lot of leaders” in Iran, not just one. In another exchange with reporters, he again insisted Washington was in touch with a particular senior leader in Iran, though not with what he described as a “new supreme leader.”
Trump had previously set a deadline linked to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He later announced a five-day pause in strikes on Iranian energy and power infrastructure, saying that ongoing talks should be given space to proceed.
In responses to Ghalibaf’s statement, some social media users argued that Israel’s report was designed to turn him into a figure of suspicion inside Iran and potentially expose him to internal backlash.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh, however, acknowledged that Tehran had received messages from the United States through friendly countries requesting talks and seeking an end to the war.
“[They were] received and answered in line with Iran’s principles,” he said.
He also warned that any attack on Iran’s critical infrastructure, especially energy facilities, would trigger a “swift and decisive response” from Iran’s armed forces.
At the same time, Baghaei dismissed claims that direct negotiations with Washington had taken place over the past 24 days, adding that Iran’s position on the Strait of Hormuz and on the conditions for ending the war “remain unchanged.”
Even so, Trump continued to insist that talks were underway. He said there were “major points of agreement” in the U.S.-Iran contacts and that any deal would have to ensure Tehran abandons both its nuclear ambitions and its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“We’ve wiped out the leadership, phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we’re dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader,” Trump told reporters. “We want no enrichment, but we also want the enriched uranium.”
