Trump says Iran wants a deal, claims U.S. holds the choice to engage

Trump posts that Iran wants a deal quickly, and says he alone will decide whether the U.S. engages, adding the concept remains open.

First Published: September 14, 2026, 11:38 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump said Iran wants to negotiate a deal quickly, and claimed the United States alone will decide whether to engage. Trump made the assertion in a Truth Social post, framing Tehran as a weakened adversary seeking terms. The remarks arrived as his administration weighs whether to re-enter talks over sanctions and Iran’s nuclear program.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Trump” on September 14, 2026 at 11:32 AM ET.

This is Trump’s 4th message released today, and the last post was 9 minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 71 of his 577 posts over the last 30 days classified as Foreign Policy posts.

The post follows months of on-and-off diplomacy between Washington and Tehran. Trump insisted in August that talks between the U.S. and Iran were ongoing, pushing back on Tehran’s claims to the contrary, according to cnbc.com. He called the country’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous” and accused them of lying about peace talks underway “whether Iran wants to admit it or not,” according to cnbc.com. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there was no immediate plan for negotiations with the U.S., undercutting Trump’s claim that talks would restart, according to cnbc.com.

Senior American and Iran ian officials first met directly to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program on April 12, 2025, the first such contact since Trump took office for his second term, according to perryworldhouse.upenn.edu. Iran’s nuclear program has accelerated since the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, according to perryworldhouse.upenn.edu. Trump has threatened military action if a new, more robust deal is not reached, while Iran insists any new deal must offer relief from sanctions and security guarantees, according to perryworldhouse.upenn.edu.

47th President Donald J. Trump states Iran wants a deal at Washington D.C.

Trump’s stance builds on a hardline framework he set earlier in his term. He signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum restoring maximum pressure on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, according to whitehouse.gov. The memorandum directed the Treasury to impose maximum economic pressure and to pursue a campaign aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports to zero, according to whitehouse.gov.

The posture traces to 2018, when Trump terminated U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and re-imposed sanctions lifted under the deal. He called the agreement one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into, according to trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. The re-imposed sanctions targeted critical sectors of Iran‘s economy, including energy, petrochemicals, and finance, according to trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.

Neither Trump’s post nor his administration has announced a date for any renewed round of talks. Whether the United States chooses to engage now rests on a decision Trump said he alone will make, and no timetable for that decision has been announced.