Trump claims Iran wants peace deal despite regime rejecting plan because leaders 'fear being killed by own people'
In a lengthy speech, Trump hit out at Joe Biden, the BBC, and described Iran's nuclear plans as a "cancer"
Donald Trump has claimed Iran "wants to make a deal so badly" and said its people are "afraid they'll be killed" by the US despite reports his 15-point peace plan was rejected.
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The President has stepped up efforts to strike a peace agreement with Tehran over the last few days, despite the White House threatening to "unleash hell" if Iran refused to accept defeat.
Giving a lengthy speech at a fundraising dinner for Republicans in Washington on Wednesday evening, Trump said: "They want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people.
"They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."
He added: "There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran."
Read more: Trump ‘prepared to unleash hell’ on Iran after US ceasefire plan rejected
Read more: Iran rejects Trump's ceasefire plan and issues counterproposal of five conditions for peace
He described Iran as the "cancer" in relation to its nuclear programme development, but said the US had eradicated it.
He said: "I thought that the energy prices, the oil prices would go up higher. I thought the stock market would go somewhat lower.
"But it didn’t matter to me, short term. What we had to do is get rid of the cancer. We had to cut out the cancer, and the cancer was Iran with a nuclear weapon".
Iran said it rejected the US plans to halt the war after Trump proposed a 15-point peace document on Tuesday, while launching more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.
The strikes were also followed by reports that claim Iran is to be supported by Russia, with Moscow planning on sending drones, medicine supplies, and food to help its military efforts against the US and Israel.
According to the Financial Times, Vladimir Putin has already provided satellite imagery, targeting data and intelligence support.
Trump's apparent eagerness to strike a deal with Iran appears to be conflicted by mixed messages from his Government, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a further warning.
She said on Wednesday that the US President "wants peace" but would ensure Iran was "hit harder than they have ever been hit before" if it refused to accept defeat.
Leavitt claimed Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks had fallen by roughly 90 per cent and said the US was "systematically dismantling" Iran’s defence industrial base.
She also said several 5,000lb bombs had been dropped over the weekend on underground Iranian facilities used to store missiles and weapons.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister said on state TV that his Government had not engaged in talks to end the war, and "we do not plan on any negotiations".
He told state TV: "At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance. We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled".
He said the exchange of messages was "sending messages through others".
Pakistani officials delivered the 15-point plan to Iran, described the 15-point proposal broadly, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran's nuclear programme, limits on missiles, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, the Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.
Iran's attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its restrictions on the strait have sent oil prices skyrocketing and rocked world markets over fears of a global energy crisis, in turn putting pressure on the US to find a way to end the chokehold and calm markets.
At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Middle East in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press.
The paratroopers are trained to jump into hostile or contested areas to secure key territory and airfields.
The Pentagon is also in the process of sending about 5,000 more Marines, trained in amphibious assaults, and thousands of sailors to the region.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched fresh airstrikes on Tehran and Washington deployed paratroopers and additional Marines to the region.
During the speech, Trump discussed various topics and also mocked his predecessor Joe Biden, who he described as the "worst President" in history.
He asked the audience: "Which is the better term, Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe?"
Also covered was his battle with the BBC over an edited Panorama episode broadcast in 2024 falsely gave the impression the US president had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building in 2021.
He said "they have to be taught a lesson because they're crooked people," and stated he didn't yet know how much he would be paid out if successful in his defamation claim.
Iran's death toll has passed 1,500, its health ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have died. At least 13 US military members have been killed, and more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
Authorities say more than 1,000 people have died in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group, which has also fired on Israel.