(The Epoch Times)—Iran’s military on March 25 dismissed the idea of negotiating with the United States to end the war, as Tehran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Israel and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, signaling no sign of de-escalation of the conflict.
Strikes overnight targeted multiple sites in Israel, while Iranian attacks on Gulf energy facilities and Tehran’s continued chokehold on key oil shipping routes signaled no immediate end in sight to the war.
A spokesman for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters—which oversees coordination between Iran’s regular armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—rejected the assertion that Tehran was negotiating to end the war.
“Our first and last word has been, is, and will always be: someone like us will not come to terms with someone like you,” spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari said in remarks broadcast on state television and carried by the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency.
A Turkish official said that Turkey is acting as an intermediary in efforts towards a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.
Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, said that Turkey “is playing a role passing messages” between the United States and Iran to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 24 that Washington was currently in negotiations with Tehran. The president said that his son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are involved in the talks, along with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We’re in negotiations right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have a number of people doing it. And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”
Later during the same Oval Office news conference, Trump said that Iran had made an energy-related concession to the United States, and suggested that it signaled Washington was dealing with the “right people” in Tehran.
“They’re going to make a deal,” Trump said. “They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.”
Trump said the concession was oil- and gas-related and later said it was “related to the flow and to the Strait [of Hormuz].”
“What it showed me is that we’re dealing with the right people,” the president said.
Since the start of the Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz, which connects oil-rich nations around the Persian Gulf to the broader ocean and handles approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments, has effectively been shut down by Iran.
Trump had also said during the news conference that Iran had agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons. He added that “we’re in a good bargaining position” and said Iran is mostly “defenseless.”
“We’re way ahead of schedule, and again, they have no navy, they have no air force, or missile protection,” he said.
Most of Tehran’s missile launches have been taken out by the U.S. military, he said.
Iran, Israel Strikes Continue
Iran and Israel continued to exchange airstrikes on March 25.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X that the air force had struck two sites in the heart of Iran, which produced cruise missiles.
“The targeted sites operated under the command of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and were used by the regime to develop and manufacture long-range naval cruise missiles, enabling the rapid destruction of targets at sea and on land,” the IDF said, according to a translation.
“The significant strikes caused extensive damage to the cruise missile array and constitute another layer in deepening the damage to the regime’s military production infrastructure.”
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the IRGC had carried out a series of attacks against Israel, including sites in Tel Aviv, Kiryat Shmona, and Bnei Brak.
Iran also continued its barrage against the Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said it had destroyed at least eight drones that were targeting the country’s oil-rich eastern province.
Kuwait said it shot down multiple drones. One drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, the General Civil Aviation Authority said.
The Associated Press and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
