US President Donald Trump speaks, with a portrait of former US President Ronald Reagan in the background, as he attends Markwayne Mullin's swearing-in as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, at the White House in Washington, DC on March 24, 2026. EVAN VUCCI / REUTERS
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, March 24, that talks with Iran to end the Middle East war were under way "right now," even as the Islamic Republic and Israel traded fresh strikes. Uncertainty, however, swirled around Trump's claims, with Tehran still not confirming any negotiations and Israel insisting its military campaign would go on "unchanged."
"We're in negotiations right now," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were involved.
Trump added that Iran gave him a "very big present" related to oil and gas, offering no details but saying he had new faith in Tehran's leaders.
The war that started on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran's supreme leader has since spread across the Middle East, sending energy prices soaring and roiling the world economy.
