Washington, DC, March 17
US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran is attempting to negotiate with the United States even as American military operations against the country continue, adding that Tehran has also been spreading disinformation using Artificial Intelligence about the ongoing conflict.
Responding to a question about what a potential deal with Tehran might look like amid the third week of the bombing campaign, Trump said Iran has been in contact with US representatives but suggested the situation remains uncertain.
"They (Iran) want to make a deal. They're talking to our people," Trump said, while cautioning that Iran has long relied on disinformation tactics and is now combining them with artificial intelligence.
"Don't forget, they are a country that for years has been based on disinformation, and now they're using disinformation plus AI. That's a terrible situation," he said, alleging that Iranian sources had circulated fabricated visuals using AI.
"They showed all sorts of things happening in the last two weeks that never happened... They showed buildings in Tel Aviv burning to the ground, high rises burning. They showed buildings in Qatar. They showed buildings in Saudi Arabia burning, and they weren't burning. They weren't hit. It was all AI. It's terrible," he added.
Talking about the negotiations, Trump said, "They're negotiating, and we always talk. I talk to everybody, because sometimes good things come out of it," he said, while expressing uncertainty about whether Tehran is ready to reach an agreement.
"But I don't know if they're ready yet. They're taking a pounding. I don't know if they're ready yet," he added.
The US President further claimed that the multiple groups of Iranian leaders had been eliminated during the conflict, creating uncertainty over who currently holds authority in Tehran.
"We don't even know their leaders. All of their leaders are dead as far as we know. But they're all dead. We don't know who we're dealing with. We knocked out the first group. Then the second group met and picked the leader because the first group was all dead. And the second group got knocked out. They're all dead. Then a third group met... We don't know who their leader is. We have people wanting to negotiate. We have no idea who they are," Trump further said.
The remarks come as tensions between the United States and Iran remain high amid ongoing military operations and heightened security concerns across the Middle East.
- ANI
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