President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday that his administration is negotiating with "A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME" in Iran but that he is prepared to destroy the Islamic Republic's oil, gas, and electrical infrastructure if it does not reach a ceasefire deal with the United States soon.
"The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," he wrote. "Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.' This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime's 47 year 'Reign of Terror.'"
The president's 15-point plan calls on the Islamic Republic to shutter its nuclear sites, end enrichment, and relinquish any uranium it has that could be made into a bomb, all conditions the hardline regime has publicly rejected. While the exact representatives U.S. negotiators have talked with remain unclear, Trump's comments suggest that Tehran's remaining leadership may be weary after a month of sustained U.S.-Israeli military operations.
Trump made similar threats to attack the Islamic Republic's energy infrastructure in a Monday interview with the Financial Times.
"Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't," the president said of Iran's main oil hub. "We have a lot of options. It would also mean we had to be there for a while."
Some 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the Middle East in recent days, providing Trump with the ground personnel necessary to invade Kharg Island and secure the regime's chief source of revenue.
Trump also confirmed Monday that the United States has been in negotiations with the speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. His status as a negotiating partner for Middle East envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner was reported last week, though Ghalibaf denied those claims and Tehran has continued to maintain that no direct talks have taken place. Even as he participates in peace talks, Ghalibaf on Monday warned that Iranian forces are "waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during a Monday press conference that Trump's offer includes provisions the regime will not accept.
"We haven't had any direct negotiations with the U.S. so far," Baghaei said. "What has been communicated to us, whatever you may call it, 15-points or more or less, are a set of very excessive, unrealistic and irrational demands."
Trump stated last week, though, that Tehran is privately willing to accept his peace proposal after suffering significant military defeats.
"The Iranian regime is now admitting to itself that they have been decisively defeated," Trump said. "They're talking to us because they've got a disaster on their hands. They're defeated. They can't make a comeback."
