trump calls iranian leaders 'unbelievably duplicitous,' tells tehran to make a deal or surrender
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u.s. president donald trump listens to a reporter's question as he holds a bilateral meeting with president of lebanon joseph aoun in the oval office of the white house in washington, d.c., tuesday, july 21, 2026.
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u.s. president donald trump accused iran’s leaders of being deceitful on monday, giving tehran an ultimatum: make a deal or “total surrender.”
trump’s latest threats came after iran denied it was in negotiations with the u.s. after the memorandum of understanding signed in june, pausing the war, collapsed in early july.
in a lengthy post on truth social, trump wrote: “iranian leadership is unbelievably duplicitous! they ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘oman.’
“they then go on to give their usual blather in saying, the strait of hormuz will be operated powerfully by them, when it is already completely controlled by the united states navy and our ‘blockade’ or, as some say, ‘the united states wall of steel!'”
“nothing gets through to iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a deal, or total surrender, is accomplished. whether iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades. it is very simple, iran will never have a nuclear weapon! thank you for your attention to this matter,” trump ended his post.
trump’s comments came a day after he said he called off planned u.s. airstrikes against iran over the weekend, which he described as “the biggest attack since world war ii,” after he said gulf allies and iran had urged him to shelve the attack.
“obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. they knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” trump told reporters on air force one on sunday.
the u.s. president said that another round of negotiations would begin monday without providing more details about the talks.
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speaking at the oval office monday afternoon, trump was asked by a reporter what his message was to the american people after again halting planned attacks on iran.
“i want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” trump said. “very tough to do what we have planned, still planned. we’ll see what happens … i’m very proud of the fact that i will give people, i’ll give people a chance.”
iran’s response
iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson esmail baghaei on monday denied trump’s claim that discussions were happening and said no meetings were planned, iran’s semi-official and student-run media, isna news agency, reported.
baghaei said iran was in talks with oman over joint control of the strait of hormuz, a major shipping route for global energy supplies.
“we are trying at the earliest opportunity, in consultation and cooperation with oman, to determine a temporary route to ensure safe passage,” baghaei said, per isna news agency.
he also said u.s. military actions against iranian shipping constitute piracy.
“these actions show u.s. hostility toward the iranian people and its insistence on confrontation despite claims about the importance of diplomacy. iran will take any necessary action to secure its interests,” baghaei said.
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