US President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that his administration was “talking to the right people” in Iran, adding that the Islamic Republic “wants to make a deal so badly” to end the ongoing war.

“We’re in negotiations right now… We have a number of people doing it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to his negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Despite the talk of diplomacy, the Pentagon is expected to send thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not specify where in the Middle East the troops would be sent or when they would arrive in the region.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported Tuesday that the Trump administration has conveyed 15 conditions to Iran as its terms for ending the current war. The Haaretz newspaper echoed some of that reporting.

The conditions appeared to cover all of the United States’ and Israel’s war goals, the TV report indicated.

Nonetheless, it said, Jerusalem is concerned that Trump and his team want to push quickly for “a framework agreement, an agreement in principle” with Iran, rather than insisting on these demands as a condition for halting the war.

The report, citing three sources familiar with the details, said Kushner and Witkoff have shaped a process involving “the declaration of a monthlong ceasefire period, during which the sides would negotiate a 15-point agreement.”

The framework is reminiscent of previous Trump administration-brokered agreements with Hamas in Gaza and with Lebanon.

“The scenario of a rapid, ambiguous agreement in principle is giving Israel’s political and security leaders sleepless nights,” Channel 12 reported, because it risks a situation in which the Iranians would essentially have emerged with the upper hand, with the conflict ending before the precise terms are agreed.

The report specified 14 of the 15 demands and benefits that the US has conveyed to Iran as follows, citing a Western source:

1. Iran must dismantle its existing nuclear capabilities.

2. Iran must commit never to pursue nuclear weapons.

3. There will be no uranium enrichment on Iranian territory.

4. Iran must hand its stockpile of some 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent to the International Atomic Energy Agency in the near future, in a timetable to be agreed.

5. The Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo nuclear facilities must be dismantled.

6. The IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, must be granted full access, transparency and oversight inside Iran.

7. Iran must abandon its regional proxy “paradigm.”

8. Iran must cease the funding, direction and arming of its regional proxies.

9. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open and function as a free maritime corridor.

10. Iran’s missile program must be limited in both range and quantity, with specific thresholds to be determined at a later stage.

11. Any future use of missiles would be restricted to self-defense.

In return, Iran would benefit as follows:

12. Iran would receive a full lifting of sanctions imposed by the international community.

13. The US would assist Iran in advancing its civilian nuclear program, including electricity generation at the Bushehr nuclear plant.

14. The so-called “snapback” mechanism, which allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions if Iran fails to comply, would be removed.

The Haaretz daily, citing a source in the Middle East, said the US had passed along its 15-point proposal to Iran through Pakistan, with a 24-hour deadline for the Islamic Republic to respond.

Tehran said it would be unable to meet the deadline because decision-makers in the regime were having such difficulty communicating or meeting for fear of being targeted, the report said.

Iran ultimately told the US it would consider the offer, but emphasized there were some things it would never accept, according to the report.

Trump said Monday there were many points of agreement with Iran on terms for ending the war, and a serious chance for a deal.  However, Israeli intelligence has estimated that the gaps between the sides are very large, according to Channel 12.

Iran’s new supreme leader must approve talks – report

The US — together with mediators Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey — is discussing holding a “peace summit” with Iran as early as Thursday, where the sides would discuss the US’s proposal, the network reported, citing three sources familiar with the plan.

The summit would likely be held in Islamabad, the report said, although it added that two sources noted Iran had not yet agreed to such a summit.

Pakistan’s prime minister said earlier he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war. A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen — “a big ‘if'” — it would take place within a week.

It is unclear at what level the talks would take place, the TV report said. While the US was said to prefer a high-level meeting — such as between Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf — it could also be held at a lower level, such as between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Kushner and Witkoff.

Regardless of Washington’s negotiations with Iran, US and Israeli officials told Channel 12 that they did not see the war ending or even pausing in the next two to three weeks, as reaching a deal is expected to take longer.

Iran has denied engaging in talks with the US, and officials familiar with the matter have clarified that what has taken place in recent days has been more of a passing along of messages through mediators.

Trump: Iran gave US ‘present’ related to Strait of Hormuz

In the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that he had been planning to bomb Iran’s main power plant until Tehran purportedly reached out over the weekend, expressing interest in negotiating a deal to end the war.

The president said he was demanding in talks that Iran not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and insisted that Tehran had already agreed to that. Iran has long said it’s not pursuing a nuclear weapon, but has been enriching uranium at weapons-grade levels.

He went on to say that Iran had given him a “present” worth a “tremendous amount of money” related to the Strait of Hormuz and matters of oil and gas.

Speaking to reporters earlier at the White House, President Trump mentions and vaguely talks about a mysterious “present” given to the United States yesterday by Iran: “Because they're going to make a deal. They're going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was… pic.twitter.com/Wo3HBVl35d — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 24, 2026

Speaking to reporters earlier at the White House, President Trump mentions and vaguely talks about a mysterious “present” given to the United States yesterday by Iran:

“Because they're going to make a deal. They're going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was… pic.twitter.com/Wo3HBVl35d

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 24, 2026

Asked by reporters why he trusts the Iranians, Trump first insisted that he doesn’t trust anyone before adding, “They did something yesterday that was amazing — they gave us a present… that arrived today.”

“It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money, and I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize,” he said.

“They gave it to us, and they said they were going to give it. That meant one thing to me. [That we’re] dealing with the right people… They’re the only ones [who] could have done it,” Trump continued.

“It wasn’t nuclear related, it was oil and gas related,” he added when pressed to clarify the nature of the gift.

Asked if the gift was related to the flow in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump responded, “Yeah.” Asked if the US would control Hormuz after the war, Trump said, “We’ll have control of anything we want.”

“I think we’re going to end [the war],” he added.

Trump quipped that when he told his defense secretary and military chief that he thought the Iran war would be settled soon, the latter two were upset because they wanted to keep fighting.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 4 people lightly hurt, buildings mangled as Iranian missile attack hits Tel Aviv

2 Netanyahu: Trump sees chance for deal with Iran to achieve war goals, protect Israel’s ‘vital interests’

3 Smotrich says Litani River should be Israel’s new border with Lebanon

4 ‘We are scared, terrified’: London Jews on edge after antisemitic arson attack

5 Saudi Arabia and UAE ‘inching toward’ joining fighting against Iran — report

6 Inside storyDeadly missile strike in West Bank highlights lack of protection for Palestinians

7 Cameras to crosshairsIran built a vast camera network to control dissent. Israel turned it into a targeting tool

8 Study: Birthright travelers look different after Oct. 7 — but the effect remains the same

2026 US-Israel war with Iran

Iran's nuclear program

© The Times of Israel