Iran accuses US of ‘manufacturing fake news about imaginary talks’

Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council on Monday accused the U.S. of “manufacturing fake news about imaginary talks” to end the war, with President Trump downplaying the likelihood of renewed strikes amid talks with Qatar.

“The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government,” Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said on the social platform X . “But Washington flails like a desperate gambler. FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks. Stop denying the West Asian NEW ORDER.”

Rezaei called on the U.S. to “SURRENDER to the seven conditions Iran has repeatedly set out.”

Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which it has effectively shut off since the start of the conflict, if the U.S. agreed to its seven conditions to end the fighting. These conditions include lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.

But Trump and his administration have rejected these conditions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushing back on Iran’s requests while in Paris on Tuesday.

“Iran is demanding reparations. They should be the ones paying reparations because they’re the ones that have destabilized the region for long periods of time,” he told reporters. “They’re demanding pallets of cash, which the president’s made clear is not going to happen.”

Rubio added that if Iran wants a nuclear energy program, “they should have one like many other countries around the world have” but there are “things they can do” to get to that point.

“Now, I think they want a deal, there’s no doubt they’d like a deal too, but they’re just not ready to make one, apparently,” he said. “But we’re open to it.”

Trump downplayed his pre-midterm election suggestion that he would renew strikes on Iran after the midterms, despite reported strikes on Qeshm Island last Monday and last Friday . Following the attacks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave the U.S. an ultimatum after Tehran submitted a two-day proposal to end the conflict.

This downplay from the president during a White House press conference on Monday included Trump’s claim that the war was “ending quickly,” but that the U.S. wants “to take care of people that have been very good to us over the years,” referring to allies in the region.

These remarks followed a White House meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has served as the lead mediator between Washington and Tehran.

The administration has largely said the Iran war had a role in the sweeping Republican losses during the midterms. The conflict contributed to inflation and caused gas prices to soar, but high gas prices hit below $4 for the first time since July.