Headline Roundup • March 24th, 2026
Trump Claims 'Productive' Talks With Iran, Iran Says 'Fake News'
Summary from the AllSides News Team
President Trump said the US will hold off on its promise to "obliterate" Iranian power plants because the two countries have had meaningful peace discussions, though Iran has denied that the negotiations have taken place.
Trump Quotes: Trump said in all caps on Truth Social that "over the last two days" the two nations have had "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution," prompting a directive "to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period."
Iran Rebuttal: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, "No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told Iranian state media outlet IRNA that "messages have been received from some friendly countries regarding the US's request for negotiations to end the war."
Trump Clarifies: On Monday morning, Fox Business (Lean Right bias) host Maria Bartiromo said she asked Trump about the Iranian claims that no talks had happened. Bartiromo said, "I asked him what his reaction is to Iranian state television, saying that there are no talks, and he said he's not sure what they are referring to because the most recent talks happened, in fact, last night with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and their counterparts… he said it's hard to get any information there because of the US is blowing up so much of their infrastructure."
How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum noted the split narratives, though outlets from the left and center often did so in headlines while outlets from the right did not. Fox News (Right) was the only outlet AllSides found to note Trump's clarification when asked about it by Fox Business host Bartiromo.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
President Donald Trump responded to Iranian state media denying reports that Tehran was engaged in talks with the U.S. on Monday.
Trump spoke with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Monday morning, just after announcing "constructive" talks with Tehran. Bartiromo pressed Trump to explain why Iranian media denied that such talks were taking place.
"I just spoke with President Trump and he told me that Iran wants to make a deal badly," Bartiromo said. "He said that the talks have been ongoing. I said, how much longer will this conflict go...
Senior Iranian officials have denied that Iran held talks with the United States, just hours after US President Donald Trump claimed "very good and productive conversations" had taken place towards ending the war.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a social media post on Monday that "no negotiations have been held with the US".
EPA/Shutterstock
US President Donald Trump's promise of "good" and "productive" talks with Iran are perhaps his most conciliatory remarks since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, but leave significant unanswered questions.
Early on Monday morning - just hours before markets opened - Trump took to Truth Social, promising to hold off on striking Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period as talks continue, after having previously threatened to "obliterate" these targets unless Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, however, has denied that any contact between its official...
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