Why it's hard to trust Trump's Iran claims

Plus, Markwayne Mullin confirmed as Trump's new DHS secretary |

VIEW IN BROWSER MS NOW DAILY Understand today's news Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2026   THE LATEST We ought to be skeptical of Trump's 'productive' talks with Iran By Zeeshan Aleem We ought to be skeptical of Trump's 'productive' talks with Iran By Zeeshan Aleem On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran: "Fully open" the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face bombardment of your power plants. Iran immediately said it would not comply with Trump's demands and promised to retaliate. Yet on Monday, Trump reversed course, announcing that he was delaying strikes on Iran's nuclear plants for five days due to "productive" talks with the country over ending hostilities. It is a good thing that Trump did not hit Iran's power plants, because that would effectively be an attack on the country's civilian population, and it would mark yet another escalation in a war that should never have started in the first place. But there's reason to be skeptical of Trump's pivot. Multiple Iranian officials deny the existence of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations Trump says were so productive. When asked about Iran's denials, Trump insisted that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke with an Iranian official Sunday night, identifying them only as "the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader." But just days ago, Trump boasted about how he had killed so many of Iran's leaders that "we have nobody to talk to — and you know what? We like it that way."   This is a preview of Zeeshan Aleem's latest column. Read the full column here. TOP STORIES SYDNEY CARRUTH Mullin confirmed as Trump's Department of Homeland Security secretary The senator will lead the embattled agency after vowing to end the use of administrative warrants but signaled support for Trump's hard-line immigration policies. Read more. ROSA FLORES AND SARA WEISFELDT Children 'continue to suffer' at Texas immigration detention facility, attorneys allege A new court filing details suffering at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. Federal officials say conditions are fine. Read more. JORDAN RUBIN The Supreme Court could inject chaos and uncertainty into midterm elections voting The justices are considering blocking states from accepting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Read more. BARBARA MCQUADE Trump offered another brutal reminder of who he is after Robert Mueller's death Trump's shameless efforts to blame the former FBI director for his own shortcomings once again expose the president's true nature. Read more. TOP VIDEOS RACHEL MADDOW Trump to pay $1 billion taxpayer dollars to stop wind farms WATCH NOW DEADLINE: WHITE HOUSE 'Series of head-spinning announcements': Trump fails to articulate end goal in Iran WATCH NOW KATY TUR REPORTS TSA officer reacts to ICE presence at airports: 'They're not trained to do what we do' WATCH NOW CHRIS JANSING REPORTS Air traffic controller after crash at LaGuardia: 'I messed up' WATCH NOW MORE FROM MS NOW This week on "The Best People," Nicolle Wallace is joined by Julie K. Brown to reflect on her incredible legacy of investigative reporting, including her role in breaking the Jeffrey Epstein story wide open. They discuss what threads she continues to pull, and the importance of believing these women. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. In the latest episode of "Main Justice," MS NOW Legal Analysts Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord break down a judge's decision to quash subpoenas issued by the Justice Department against Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Plus, they discuss a case brought by AI firm Anthropic against the Pentagon for labeling them a "supply chain risk" after a disagreement over use of its "Claude" AI model. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content. 229 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036 PRIVACY | CONTACT | UNSUBSCRIBE