In the span of five days, Trump's public position on ending the Iran war swung repeatedly. On March 20, he told reporters on the White House South Lawn, “We could have dialogue, but I don't want to do a ceasefire. You know you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side.” He added, “They don't have a navy. They don't have an air force. They don't have any equipment.” Later that day he posted on Truth Social that the U.S. was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.”
On March 21, Trump warned that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Iran did not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, destroying “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” On March 23, he postponed the strikes for five days, citing what he said were talks with Iran and “major points of agreement.” Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied that negotiations were taking place.
On March 25, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected a U.S. 15-point proposal to end the war, which according to reporting included Iran's commitment never to pursue nuclear weapons and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said talks “continue, they are productive,” and said she “would caution reporters in this room from reporting about speculative points or speculative plans from anonymous sources.” She added, “The White House never confirmed that full plan.” A U.S. official told Axios the administration had yet to receive any message from Iran rejecting the offer.
Iran laid out five conditions of its own: a halt to “aggression and assassinations” by the U.S. and Israel; “mechanisms” to ensure the war does not resume; payment of war damages and reparations; an end to attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq; and “international recognition and guarantees” for Iran's authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Correction (October 14, 2026): An earlier version said the White House denied the 15-point plan existed and that a U.S. official said there was “nothing to reject.” Leavitt cautioned reporters against reporting “speculative” plans from anonymous sources and said the White House “never confirmed that full plan,” while saying talks were productive, and the official said only that no rejection had been received; the title and text have been corrected. The earlier version also said Trump postponed a “48-hour ultimatum” without noting the five-day delay, and closed with an opinion paragraph (that Trump had “lost control of his own war”) that has been removed.