Iran…Trump War…Evening …3/25/2026…Negotiation’s HAVE Begun….

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Iran’s forces had been crushed after four weeks of strikes by the United States and Israel. “That’s why you are beginning to see the regime look for an exit ramp,” she said.

But Iranian officials didn’t sound defeated. In a statement issued through state television, an official said the government would not end the attacks unless the United States paid war reparations and recognized Iranian control over a vital oil route, the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively blocked the strait to most shipping.

The Iranian official said that Tehran would not allow Mr. Trump “to dictate the timing of the war’s end.” Later, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in an interview with a state broadcaster that Iran had no intention of negotiating.

Still, Iranian officials signaled privately on Tuesday that they were open to negotiations, raising the prospect of a cessation in hostilities.

Israel, worried that Mr. Trump might end the war before it had achieved its goals — dismantling Iran’s ballistic missile program and blocking its ability to develop nuclear programs — moved on Wednesday to step up its efforts to destroy as much of Iran’s military capabilities as possible. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a 48-hour campaign of attacks focused on crippling Iran’s arms industry, according to two senior Israeli officials and two people briefed on the matter.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Carrier attacked: Iran’s military said on Wednesday that it had fired cruise missiles at the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, according to the Iranian semiofficial Mehr news agency, hours after an Iranian naval commander warned it would strike if the vessel came within range.

• Fighting in Lebanon: The Israeli military struck the southern outskirts of Beirut, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, as well as several towns in the south, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Israel also said it had targeted gas stations tied to Hezbollah’s financial network.

• United States: Several Congressional Republicans left classified Pentagon briefings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday frustrated by the lack of crucial details about next steps in the war. Nearly a month into the fighting, Republicans have given Mr. Trump broad latitude to wage war without congressional input and resisted summoning administration officials for public accountability.

• Tension in Iraq: Iraq’s prime minister instructed the foreign ministry to summon the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires and deliver a “strongly worded letter of protest.” It came after a strike that the defense ministry said killed seven soldiers and injured 13 others on Wednesday at a site in western Iraq belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization for militias that include Iran-backed brigades. It was unclear who was responsible for the attacks, but the groups’ attacks on U.S. forces have prompted retaliatory strikes.

• Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the war began — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,440 civilians have been killed in Iran. Almost 1,100 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Wednesday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.

….

The Guardian….

• Mixed messages have swirled today on the progress of any supposed peace talks between the United States and Iran, with each side claiming the upper hand. While White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Donald Trump was having “productive discussions” with Iran, Tehran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi – while acknowledging that the two countries have exchanged messages through mediators – told state media that that is no the same as the two sides being in talks, and said Iran has no intention of negotiating “for now”. “That they are now talking about negotiations is an admission of defeat,” he told state media. “Didn’t they claim unconditional surrender before?”

• Iran reportedly received the US’s 15-point plan, which Tehran initially rejected but Araghchi later suggested it was still under review. “If a position needs to be taken, it will certainly be determined,” he said. Earlier it was reported that Tehran had rejected the “excessive” demands in the proposal. Among the demands were a complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program and strict limitations on its missile arsenal.

• The White House, meanwhile, warned that Donald Trump is prepared to “unleash hell” if Iran does not accept defeat, and continued to insist that negotiations were ongoing. Leavitt said the US president prefers a peaceful path, but is prepared to “hit [Iran] harder than they have ever been hit before” if necessary.

• Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, with what he described as a “larger buffer zone” to push back the threat of Hezbollah. His forces have also continued to bomb Beirut. Many in Lebanon fear that Israel’s plans could echo its previous protracted occupation, which ended in 2000.

• “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said. He also told the US and Israel it is “high time” to end the war and called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbours.

…

ISW...Iran Update Special Report, March 25, 2026

1. The United States presented a 15-point proposal to Iran via Pakistan on March 24. The 15-point proposal reportedly includes provisions requiring Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, end uranium enrichment, hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, limit its missile capabilities, cease support for the Axis of Resistance, and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, among other demands. The Trump administration has reportedly not yet received a formal Iranian response to the US proposal. The White House threatened on March 25 to conduct further military action against Iran if the regime does not agree to a deal to end the conflict.
2. Iran sent a letter to International Maritime Organization member states on March 22 stating that “non-hostile” ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iran. Ships associated with the United States, Israel, or other “participants in the aggression” are not eligible for safe passage. Vessel operators are required to contact intermediaries with connections to the IRGC before transiting through the strait.
3. A longtime observer of drone operations suggested on March 25 that drone footage posted by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on March 24 is consistent with a fiber-optic first-person view (FPV) drone.  ISW-CTP is unable to authenticate the Islamic Resistance in Iraq’s video. Iran’s ability to manufacture and operate fiber-optic FPV drones and transfer this technology to its regional proxies and partners would pose a significant challenge to US interests in the Middle East, if the footage is authentic.
4. ISW-CTP has recorded an uptick in combined force strikes targeting Iranian defense industrial sites since its last data cutoff. This uptick comes amid a report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to destroy as much of Iran’s arms industry as possible over the next 48 hours.