Trump: Iran wants to make a deal “so badly” but “they’re afraid to say it”

President Donald Trump said on March 25, Iran wants to make a deal “so badly” but “they’re afraid to say it” for fear of being killed.

“Nobody’s ever seen anything like we’re doing in the Middle East with Iran, and they are negotiating, by the way, and 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,” Trump said at a fundraising dinner for the House GOP campaign arm in Washington.

The White House said earlier Wednesday that talks with Iran are not at a dead end even after Tehran did not immediately accept a 15-point plan to end the war. The US is working to arrange a meeting in Pakistan to discuss an off-ramp, two administration officials tell CNN.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged that messages have been exchanged with the US through mediators, he stressed that the communications do not amount to negotiations.