US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that the US and Iran have been holding 'direct' and 'productive' talks over the past two days, announcing that he was postponing by five days his threat to hit energy sites.
Iran mocked him in turn, saying he's 'backed down'; and denied any such talks.
Trump continued to say Iran 'wants to make a deal badly', even giving a timeline: 'within five days or less'. He has made it difficult to keep track of what he says, or means, at different points.
Trump's 'Truth vs Iran's rebuff' came two days after he'd made a threat asking Iran to reopen the global oil trade route Strait of Hormuz, or face attacks on its power infrastructure.
Iran's mocking reply spoke directly to Trump's dramatic shift in tone instead, after more than three weeks of his claims that the US and Israel have either won already or are winning.
Beginning with the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28, the conflict has seen wider retaliation by Iran, disrupting global oil supplies and straining alliances across the Gulf region.
What Trump announced on 'talks' in his post on Truth Social on Monday, March 23, described 'discussions' with Iran as 'very good and productive', saying the two sides had talked about 'a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East'. He used adjectives like 'in-depth, detailed, and constructive', and vowed that the talks would continue through the week.
Contradictions began as soon as the US launched its Operation Epic Fury on February 28, when Trump said on Truth Social that it'll be 'swift and decisive', aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran has maintained it had no intention of building any atom bombs anyway, something it told the US in talks that were on until the sudden launch of airstrikes.
Trump's constant stream of contradictions has led to friction within his administration too, with Joseph 'Joe' Kent, who resigned as Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, speaking on Monday after Trump's climbdown.
