By Summer Said, Robbie Gramer and Alexander Ward
Mediators from Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan are pushing to have a meeting arranged between U.S. and Iranian officials in the next 48 hours but both sides remain far apart, Arab officials and a U.S. official familiar with the discussion said.
Iranian officials initially said they would be open for talks but haven't given formal approval to a meeting in Islamabad, the official added. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Trump said Iran's leadership -- or what has survived of it -- was under pressure to negotiate. "Nobody knows who to talk to, but we're actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly," Trump said.
He said Iran recently agreed not to have a nuclear weapon-although that has been Iran's public position for some time.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials told the mediators that they remain highly suspicious of the U.S., which the Iranians said has attacked twice under the Trump administration during high-level diplomatic talks, officials familiar with the talks said. Media leaks of the talks have also angered Iran, the officials said.
Some U.S. officials are growing skeptical that the latest diplomatic push with Iran will succeed. Iran's government is in chaos after Israeli strikes to decapitate its leadership, making it difficult for the U.S. to land on a reliable negotiator from the Iranian side for serious talks. U.S. officials also assess that Tehran thinks, rightly or not, that it still has leverage over the U.S. to drag out negotiations as its closure of the Strait of Hormuz roils global energy markets and raises pressure on Trump.
"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the news media," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. "As President Trump and his negotiators explore this newfound possibility of diplomacy, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated to achieve the military objectives laid out by the Commander in Chief and the Pentagon."
Axios earlier reported the push for a Thursday meeting.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has consolidated power within the shattered regime and is making hardline demands from the U.S., such as the closure of all American bases in the Gulf or reparations for the attacks. A U.S. official called the demands ridiculous and unrealistic. The posturing will make reaching a deal with Tehran harder than before Trump started the war, the officials said.
The officials say the first messages of the new diplomatic round came from Middle Eastern intermediaries late last week. The U.S. and Iran aren't in direct contact, contributing to a sense among some within the administration that neither side will quickly agree to a deal.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2026 17:47 ET (21:47 GMT)
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