Iran says Trump ‘negotiating with himself’: what next for war? - The Latest

Summary

Today in Focus: Iran says Trump ‘negotiating with himself’—What Next for War? (March 26, 2026)

Main Theme

This episode of "Today in Focus: The Latest," hosted by Lucy Hoff and featuring Guardian senior international correspondent Julian Borger, analyzes the escalating crisis between the US and Iran amid Donald Trump's contradictory peace overtures and military threats. With the Middle East on a knife edge amidst an ongoing war, the discussion unpacks the shifting diplomatic, economic, and military dynamics and considers the global fallout and regional implications—including the mocking response from Iranian officials, Israel's accelerating attacks, and the looming nuclear danger.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump's Contradictory Diplomacy & Iran’s Response (00:45–02:14)

• Contradictions in Trump’s Statements: Trump claims Iran is "begging for a deal" even as he issues new threats.
  • Julian Borger [00:45]: “Almost every statement he’s made since the beginning of the war has had a contradiction in it… They want full lifting of sanctions. Overall strategy is one of defiance and they have become very good at this international trolling.”
• Iran Rejects Trump's 15-Point Peace Plan: Despite public White House optimism, Iran denies talks and counters with its own 5-point plan.
• Escalating Threats: Trump signals that further delays could lead to harsher military action.
• Market Manipulation Strategy: Trump’s dual aim is maintaining positive market sentiment (keeping oil below $100/barrel and the stock market high) while increasing pressure on Iran.

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2. The Competing Peace Plans: Key Fault Lines (03:19–04:41)

• US 15-Point Plan: Details remain mostly undisclosed but reportedly include nuclear and missile restrictions and navigation agreements for the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran’s Red Lines:
  • Unwilling to give up its uranium enrichment program.
  • Demands total lifting of all sanctions.
  • Refuses to limit missile program, given its importance as a deterrent.
  • Likely resistance to cooperation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
  • Julian Borger [04:17]: “The Iranians are adamant that they will not give up on the principle of enrichment … and they resist … limits on their missile program, which for them is their only deterrence against being attacked again.”

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3. Military Escalation & Timing (04:41–06:52)

• US Military Deployment: Thousands of US troops and marine units are moved to the region as a display of force and leverage.
• Weekend Strike Logic: Possible strikes timed for weekends to minimize immediate market impact, as seen when the war began with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a Saturday.
  • Julian Borger [05:28]: “Every time he has built up significant force, he has used it. And of course, on the weekend, if they are hoping this would be a short, sharp shock… then obviously the weekend will be the time to do it.”

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4. Iran’s Mockery and “International Trolling” of Trump (06:52–08:34)

• Defiance through Mockery: Iranian officials troll Trump, leveraging memes reminiscent of his time on "The Apprentice" (“You're fired, Eitan, you are fired”) and mocking his handling of military strategy.
  • Lucy Hoff [06:52]: “One thing that's been quite striking this week is the sort of mockery, the trolling that the Iranian regime has been carrying out of Trump.”
  • Julian Borger [07:50]: “Their overall strategy is one of defiance and they have become very good at this international trolling because it's also about his standing in the world and his credibility.”
• Global Image: This mockery aims to undercut Trump’s international reputation and frustrate his efforts for decisive action.

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5. Israel’s Accelerated Strikes (08:34–09:49)

• Targeted Killings: Israel has killed a senior IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard) naval officer, continuing its aggressive military approach in the Hormuz region.
• Hastening Attacks: Uncertainty about a possible peace deal motivates Israel to inflict maximal damage on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure before any potential ceasefire.
  • Julian Borger [09:01]: “All this talk from Trump about the possibility of a deal has given the Israelis impetus to speed things up. They want to inflict as much damage … as they can before this whole thing is wrapped up.”

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6. Humanitarian and Global Fallout (09:49–11:45)

• Wider Human Impact:
  • Ongoing, severe strikes in Lebanon, with medics killed.
  • Blackouts sweeping parts of Iran.
  • WHO warns of a “health crisis unfolding in real time.”
  • Economic reverberations worldwide.
• Worrying Nuclear Risks: Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is “not far from bomb grade.” With the new, vengeful younger ayatollah not reaffirming the anti-nuclear weapon fatwa, the nuclear threat has increased.
  • Julian Borger [10:28]: “It's an absolute mismatch between the kind of vocabulary that Trump has been using… and the scale of this disaster… It's a global economic disaster… it's a health crisis and also potentially a very serious nuclear crisis… arguably … the threat of Iran racing to try and make a nuclear weapon … has gone up.”
• Disparity Between Rhetoric and Reality: The “farcical war of words” starkly contrasts with the deadly seriousness on the ground.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Julian Borger [00:45]: “Almost every statement he's made since the beginning of the war has had a contradiction in it.”
• Lucy Hoff [06:52]: “Trump seems to love these shock and awe tactics. But as we've seen, the posthumous strategy doesn’t seem to be quite so considered.”
• Julian Borger [10:28]: “It's a global economic disaster. It's obviously an environmental disaster. Look at those plumes of black smoke hanging over Tehran… it's a health crisis and also potentially a very serious nuclear crisis.”
• Julian Borger (on Iranian trolling) [07:50]: “They have become very good at this international trolling because it's also about his standing in the world and his credibility.”

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:45 | Contradictory Trump statements and Iran’s defiant reaction | | 03:53 | Overview of 15-point and 5-point rival peace plans | | 05:28 | US military build-up and timing possible strikes | | 06:52 | Iranian trolling and memes targeting Trump | | 08:34 | Israel’s acceleration of strikes on Iranian targets | | 09:49 | Humanitarian and global impacts; nuclear dangers | | 10:28 | Julian Borger’s summary of global and nuclear crisis |

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Tone & Takeaway

The conversation blends factual analysis, wit, and a sense of urgency. Lucy Hoff’s measured, insightful questions contrast with Julian Borger’s sometimes darkly humorous yet deeply worried analysis of events:

• The crisis is confusing and rapidly changing, with US leadership sending mixed signals and Iran not backing down.
• Mockery and psychological tactics dominate public discourse, but the real-world stakes—human suffering, global economic shocks, and nuclear risks—grow more acute by the day.
• The episode closes in a somber mood, with both speakers acknowledging the gravity and uncertainty of what comes next.

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This summary covers the full depth and dynamic of the episode for those who have not yet listened.

Transcript

[Lucy Hoff]

This is the Guardian.

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[Julian Borger]

Almost every statement he's made since the beginning of the war has had a contradiction in it. He says the Iranians are begging for a deal. They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it. The Iranians want full lifting of sanctions. Overall strategy is one of defiance and they have become very good at this international trolling. Eitan, you are fired. Because it's also about his standing in the world.

[Lucy Hoff]

Iran has rejected Donald Trump's peace plan despite the president saying they're begging for a deal. Meanwhile, thousands of US Military personnel are being sent to the Middle East. So is Trump's pitch for peace falling flat from the guardians today? In focus, this is the latest. With me, Lucy Hoff. Joining me is Julian Borger, the Guardian's senior international correspondent. Julian, thanks so much for coming up to the studio. As ever as we enter. Well, we're in the middle of the fourth week of this war. It's a somewhat confusing picture. Donald Trump pressurizing Iran overnight to accept a deal to end the war. A 15 point plan that will come onto Iran has rejected that plan. Meanwhile, Trump is threatening very serious implications should that deal not be accepted. He says this will get serious soon, otherwise it will be too late. There's been reporting of threats of a final blow. How can we make sense of all of this if we can?

[Julian Borger]

Well, as ever with Trump is really difficult because almost every statement he's made since the beginning of the war has had a contradiction in it. And here again we've got a contradiction. He says the Iranians are begging for a deal and then says, you better get serious before it's too late making another threat. I mean, I think what we've seen so far is a pattern. He wants somehow to reassure the market and keep the oil price down. Under $100, keep the stock market up. But at the same time, he has to threaten Iran so that they will go along with an end of a war on his terms, which up to now they've shown no sign of doing it. So he keeps on warning them, this is going to get much worse, this is going to get serious as if it wasn't already serious, in the hope that they will come on board. In his statement today, he said, oh, they're very strange. The Iranians obviously getting more and more frustrated that they haven't bowed so far to all the bombing that's gone on up to now.

[Lucy Hoff]

He also said that he'd been offered a prize by the Iranians without much specific specificity on what that prize is. But that seems somewhat implausible given that Iran are denying that these talks are taking place. They reject this 15 point plan. So let's talk about the details about what these counter proposals are. Because Trump's administration has put forward a 15 point plan. The Iranians have counted that with a five point plan. I wonder if you can briefly outline sort of what the key fault lines are between those two.

[Julian Borger]

There are a new 15 points that the Pakistanis have said that they have forwarded to Iran. We don't know exactly what's in them. We know from reporting that it addresses the nuclear program, but restrictions on that on missiles and it must include some kind of agreement for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yes.

[Julian Borger]

The Iranians are adamant that they will not give up on the principle of enrichment. And this is a big difference between them. The Iranians want full lifting of sanctions, not just nuclear sanctions, but all sanctions. And they resist. They push back against limits on their missile program, which for them is their only deterrence against being attacked again.

[Lucy Hoff]

And you imagine will push back against the sense of cooperation in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been such a key sort of point of leverage in the last four weeks. I mean, you mentioned how, how dictated Trump has been by the markets in all of this, with all of these suggestions that a deal is very close. I mean, that is, as you say, about steadying global markets, which have been thrown into disarray, but also bringing down the price of oil. Why, therefore, is he sending thousands of US Troops to the region? Is that, again, about pressure? There is also some suggestion that military action might take place on the weekends when, when the markets are closed, which is what happened at the start of the conflict when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was, was killed on a, on a Saturday Yeah.

[Julian Borger]

Again, this is another Trump pattern, is a build up military pressure to use as leverage in talks. But then the pattern we've also seen previously with Iran and then Venezuela is when you build up so much force, all our hardware, all those expensive machines, bring them together at enormous cost, there is a pressure from doing that and using them. And he has generals at his side and his very gung ho Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging the use of all these wonderful machines since they are there in it. And what we've seen before is every time he has built up significant force, he has used it. So there is this expectation that there could be action. And of course, on the weekend, if they are hoping this would be a short, sharp shock and will be sort of all over by the time the markets open again on Monday, then obviously the weekend will be the time to do it. And one of the Marine Expeditionary Units that's on the way, 2000 Marines, and all the boats and planes and helicopters that you need for amphibious landing, that will be in position at the end of the week. So it is possible that there will be something on the weekend.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah, all these sort of shock and awe tactics that Trump seems to love. But as we've seen, the sort of posthumous strategy doesn't seem to be quite so considered. One thing that's been quite striking this week is the sort of mockery, the trolling that the Iranian regime has been carrying out of Trump. I'm not sure anyone loves to be mocked, but President Trump perhaps least of all. There's been various memes about the US Military strategy. There's been another meme related to his former position pre president as host of the Apprentice, with an Iranian official saying, you're fired, Aytaram, you are fired.

[Julian Borger]

You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[Lucy Hoff]

What does Iran stand to gain from that sort of strategy? I mean, presumably it Ayas Trump in a way that they find, I think

[Julian Borger]

their overall strategy is one of defiance and they have become very good at this international trolling because it's also about his standing in the world and his credibility. And so they're attacking that. One of my favorites was when he suggested when he was asked who's going to control the Strait of Hormuz, he said, well, maybe me and maybe me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is.

[Lucy Hoff]

What could go wrong?

[Julian Borger]

What could possibly go wrong?

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[Julian Borger]

And so it was an Iranian embassy who put out a meme showing the inside of a car with the steering wheel and Next door to that steering wheel, one of those toy plastic steering wheels, you know, they use for children who want to pretend they're steering.

[Lucy Hoff]

Right. Well, I imagine that's not going down very well in the Oval Office, but I just wonder where Israel fits into all of this, because they have overnight killed a very senior member of the irgc, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a naval officer, so clearly very involved in the military operations in the Strait of Hormuz. So they continue this aggressive military campaign.

[Julian Borger]

Yeah. From what we're seeing, all this talk from Trump about the possibility of a deal has given the Israelis impetus to speed things up. They want to inflict as much damage, damage on Iran's nuclear missile and other armament programs as they can before this whole thing is wrapped up. Because presumably if there are talks, the U.S. iran would want the U.S. to end all hostilities, including those of Israel. So what we've seen from the Israelis is a stepping up of their attacks, including the killing of this IRGC Admiral Alire's tank city.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah, just finally, Julian, I mean, we've talked about the Israeli strikes, these overnight strikes that have taken up this very senior naval officer in the irgc, but there are terrible strikes still on Lebanon medics that have been tragically killed in southern Lebanon. In Iran, there are blackouts. The WHO is warning of a health crisis unfolding in real time. You know, we are already feeling the ramifications on the global economy. And meanwhile, we have this kind of farcical war of words between this triptych of governments. It's a very worrying and sad state of affairs.

[Julian Borger]

Yeah, you're right. It's an absolute mismatch between the kind of vocabulary that Trump has been using. An excursion. We do some bombing just for fun. We're going to bum our little hearts out. And the scale of this disaster that he has unleashed, I mean, it's a global economic disaster. It's obviously an environmental disaster. Look at those plumes of black smoke hanging over Tehran, over the other Iranian cities. As you said, it's a health crisis and also potentially a very serious nuclear crisis because Iran has this highly enriched uranium. It's not far from bomb grade. It's enough for a dozen bombs. Now you have a situation of a wounded, vengeful Iran under a new, younger ayatollah, who has lost his father, his son, his wife, who has not so far repeated the fatwa of his father, the irreligious edict against using nuclear weapons. So arguably, it is possible that the threat of Iran racing to try and make a nuclear weapon when the ceasefire happens or even before that has gone up.

[Lucy Hoff]

Well, Julian, worrying times, but thank you so much.

[Julian Borger]

Thank you.

[Lucy Hoff]

Thanks again to Julian Borger, the Guardian's senior international correspondent. Do keep up with his reporting and breaking coverage of this story [e-mail] and do have a listen to our sister podcast, Politics Weekly, which today has an interview with Health Secretary Wes Streeting. I really recommend listening. If you haven't already, thanks for listening to this episode of the Latest, the new evening edition of Today in Focus. Today in Focus will be back in your feeds as usual tomorrow morning. The Latest will be back tomorrow night. This episode was presented by me, Lucy Hoff. It was produced by Bryony Moore. The senior producer was Ryan Ramgobin and the lead producer was Zoe Hitch.

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[Lucy Hoff]

Like it's just one bombshell after another.

[Julian Borger]

You know, you're like what? What?

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[Lucy Hoff]

This is the Guard.

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