- Trump says Iran signaled willingness to negotiate end to war.
- U.S. rejects proposed terms, demands stronger conditions including nuclear abandonment.
- Trump confirms U.S. strikes destroyed Iran's Kharg Island oil hub.
- Washington seeks multinational naval deployment to secure Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran has signalled its willingness to negotiate an end to the war but that Washington would not accept the terms on offer, saying he did not want to make a deal because the conditions were not yet strong enough.
Speaking in a wide-ranging 30-minute telephone interview with NBC News, Trump delivered some of the conflict's most direct and expansive remarks to date declaring Iran's military capabilities shattered, its supreme leader possibly dead, and the Gulf states now firmly in Washington's corner.
"Iran wants to make a deal, and I don't want to make it because the terms aren't good enough yet." - Donald Trump, NBC News, March 15, 2026
When pressed on what conditions a deal would require, Trump declined to elaborate, saying only: "I don't want to say that to you." He indicated, however, that Iran's complete abandonment of nuclear ambitions would be central to any agreement, and that any terms would need to be "very solid."
Kharg Island 'Totally Demolished'
Trump confirmed in the NBC interview that US forces had carried out strikes on Kharg Island, Iran's primary crude oil export hub in the Persian Gulf. He said the island had been devastated while noting that energy pipelines were deliberately left intact, as rebuilding them would take years.
Trump also cast doubt on whether Iran's newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei who has not appeared publicly since assuming power following his father's death is still alive. "I don't know if he's even alive. So far, nobody's been able to show him," Trump said. He later added: "I'm hearing he's not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that's surrender."
Multinational Fleet for Hormuz
Trump said he had secured commitments from multiple countries to deploy naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz to keep the critical shipping lane open. On Truth Social earlier Saturday, he wrote that nations including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom should send warships to the area in conjunction with the US. In the NBC interview, he said the response from partner nations had been enthusiastic.
"They've not only committed, but they think it's a great idea," Trump said. He added there was "so much oil, gas there's so much out there, but you know, it's being clogged up a little bit. It'll be unclogged very soon."
Gulf States 'Very, Very Solid'
In a separate interview with Fox News Radio's Brian Kilmeade, Trump claimed the conflict had drawn Gulf states closer to Washington, arguing that Iranian attacks on regional countries had dispelled any remaining neutrality among US partners in the Gulf.
Trump said some Gulf states had initially tried to stay out of the conflict, describing them as "more or less neutral," but were drawn in after being struck in Iranian retaliatory attacks. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait have all reported intercepting Iranian drones and missiles in recent days. The UAE alone recorded 1,475 unmanned aerial vehicles fired at the country as of March 10, according to Emirati authorities.
Also Read: Second Indian LPG Tanker Nanda Devi Clears Strait Of Hormuz After Shivalik
Iran's Military Capability 'Gone'
Trump offered his most sweeping characterisation yet of Iran's degraded military posture, claiming that close to 90 percent of its missile arsenal had been destroyed and that attacks on US and allied forces had declined sharply as a result.
"We are decimating them. We've knocked out most of their missiles. We've knocked out many of their drones. We knocked out a lot of the manufacturing areas where they manufacture the missiles and now the drones. We're hitting them harder than anybody's been hit since World War II." - Donald Trump, Fox News Radio, March 15, 2026
Trump also claimed Iran's naval and air force capabilities had been entirely eliminated. "Their Navy has totally gone. Their Air Force is gone. Their leadership is gone. Their second leadership is gone. Now, their third leadership is in trouble," he said. He added that the campaign was "way ahead of schedule," saying: "We had no idea we'd be this far ahead."
US Casualties and Baghdad Embassy Strike
The NBC interview came amid a sobering week for US forces. Six American service members were killed when a US Air Force refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq while supporting operations linked to the war, according to The New York Times. The crash brought the total number of American service members killed in the conflict to at least 13.
On Saturday morning, an Iranian strike hit a helipad inside the US Embassy compound in Baghdad. Air raid sirens sounded and smoke was seen rising from inside the diplomatic compound.
Also Read: North Korea Fires 10 Ballistic Missiles During U.S.-South Korea Military Drills
The embassy warned Americans not to approach the facility. Iran-aligned militias have carried out multiple attacks across Iraq in recent days targeting diplomatic and infrastructure sites.
Gas prices in the United States have risen from $2.94 a gallon on March 1 the day after strikes on Iran began to $3.66 by Saturday, according to GasBuddy.
Trump dismissed concerns that the increases would damage Republican prospects in the midterms. "I'm not concerned at all," he said. "The only thing I want to do is make sure that Iran can never be the bully of the Middle East again."
