‘They Can't Do a Thing’: Trump Claims Iran Ready for Deal, Declares Post-War Win

US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed never to pursue a nuclear weapon and offered a “significant prize” linked to the Strait of Hormuz, even as he declared victory in the three-week conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump claimed Iran was keen to “make a deal” and indicated that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special envoy on the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were leading negotiations.

However, Iranian representatives on Wednesday told the Trump administration that they do not want to re-enter negotiations with Witkoff and Kushner and would prefer to engage with Vance, CNN reported, citing sources.

The report stated that Iran believes discussions involving Witkoff and Kushner would not be productive due to the “deficit of trust following the breakdown of negotiations prior to Israel and the US launching military action”.

Vance, in contrast to Witkoff, Kushner and even Rubio, is viewed as more sympathetic to ending the war, with sources telling CNN that the Vice President is intent on wrapping up the conflict.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN that it is the President’s call who negotiates for the United States.

Trump said the current Iranian leadership had already undergone significant changes.

“It's what we really have, regime change. You know, this is a change in the regime because the leaders are all very different from the ones that we started off with that created all those problems,” he said.

On What Basis Did Trump Declare a Post-War Win Over Iran?

The US President asserted that the United States had won the war, adding that Iran’s navy and air force had been completely decimated.

“I don't like to say this. We've won this. This war has been won... It's like we're not winning a war where they have no Navy and they have no Air Force and they have no nothing. And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it,” Trump said.

Trump said the Iranian leadership had given the US a “significant prize” tied to oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

“They are going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present. And the present arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money,” he said.

“I am not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize. And they gave it to us,” he added.

“So that meant one thing to me, we're dealing with the right people. No, it wasn't nuclear weapons. It was oil and gas related,” Trump said.

“We obliterated their nuclear potential. You would have had them having two weeks after that attack, had we not made the attack (using B-2 bombers). They would have had a nuclear weapon. They would have absolutely used it. And they would have used it on the entire Middle East, including Israel,” he said.

“Never in history has a modern military, Iran had a modern military, a modern Navy, a modern Air Force, modern air defences, leadership, massive bunker. Never has a modern military been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated from day one with overwhelming firepower,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

How Did Pakistan Enter the US-Iran Talks After Trump’s Remarks?

Trump also triggered diplomatic speculation about a possible mediating role for Islamabad after he shared a statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif, in a post on X, expressed Islamabad’s willingness to facilitate a diplomatic resolution and said Pakistan was “ready and honoured” to moderate “meaningful and conclusive talks” between the United States and Iran, provided both sides agree.

(With inputs from ANI)