President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that after he canceled in-person ceasefire talks between U.S. envoys and Iranian leaders, Iran presented him with better terms in just “10 minutes.”
Trump's Account of the Event
“They gave us a paper that should have been better,” he said of Iran’s initial proposal. “And, interestingly, immediately when I canceled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better.”
The president said earlier in the day that he had told Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iranian officials. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who left Islamabad on Saturday evening as the planned talks broke down, wrote on X, “Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.”
Trump's Social Media Post
Trump shared his rationale for canceling the face-to-face talks in a social media post of his own. “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” he wrote Saturday afternoon on his Truth Social platform. He added, “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
The abrupt cancellation and subsequent claim of improved terms have raised questions about the administration's diplomatic strategy. Critics argue that such tactics undermine trust in negotiations, while supporters view it as a strong negotiating posture.
