Iran says U.S. initiated ‘outreach’ to end war, as Israel, Tehran continue to trade strikes

Mar 25, 2026 News

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(CNN) An Iranian source told CNN on Tuesday that there had been “outreach” between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war.

“There has been outreach between the United States and Iran, initiated by Washington, in recent days, but nothing that has reached the level of full-on negotiations,” the source said. “Messages have been received through various intermediaries to scope out whether an agreement to end the war can be reached.”

“The proposals being looked at are aimed not merely at achieving a ceasefire, but a concrete agreement to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran,” they added without going into further detail.

The source refused to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump‘s public statements on the negotiations, and emphasised Iran’s position has been always clear that Tehran is ready to consider any viable proposal.

“Iran is not asking for a meeting or direct talks with the United States but is willing to listen if a plan for a sustainable deal comes within reach that would preserve the national interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the source said.

“Iran is ready to provide all the necessary guarantees that it will never develop nuclear weapons but is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear technology.” The source insisted that any proposal must also include ending all sanctions imposed on Iran.

The Iranian official talked of as a potential interlocutor with the Trump administration once boasted that he personally beat protesters as a young police commander in the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, has never been shy about his role in suppressing challenges to the Islamic Republic.

“Photographs of me are available showing me on back of a motor bike…beating (the protesters) with wooden sticks…I was among those carrying out beatings on the street level and I am proud of that,” Ghalibaf is heard saying in an audio recording from 2013 about protests years earlier.

In recent weeks, as the U.S.-Israeli campaign has killed many of Iran’s top leaders, he has emerged as one of the most senior surviving civilian figures, part of a shrinking pool of officials now shaping the country’s response.

For the 64-year-old Ghalibaf, the security of the Islamic Republic has always been the overriding priority. His public remarks emphasise resistance, national strength, and the need to confront external pressure rather than compromise.

Little surprise then that he is now issuing declarations almost daily through social media in defiance of the United States and Israel.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. was having “very strong talks” and was “dealing with the man who is most respected” in Iran, but declined to name him.

“We’re dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid,” Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “The people within know who they are, they’re very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for.”

Some reports said he was referring to Ghalibaf, who within hours denied there were any negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

He posted on X: “No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped.”

Throughout the conflict, he has regularly used social media to goad Trump and demonstrate a hard line on Iran’s conditions for ending the war.

“Certainly, we aren’t seeking a ceasefire. We believe the aggressor must be punished and taught a lesson that will deter them from attacking Iran again,” he said on X on March 10.

Ghalibaf was also prominent before the war broke out, warning that such a conflict would spread across the region.

“Any war in the region would not be short-lived and would not be confined to a single party or a specific geography,” Ghalibaf told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen in late January.

Experts say he has connections across the regime’s centers of influence that would afford him a critical role in any negotiated settlement.

“He is the guy running the show,” said Hamidreza Azizi at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Ghalibaf is less interested in ideology than power and shows a Machiavellian touch at times, says Azizi added. “For him, the ends justify the means,” he told CNN, pointing to his shifting perspectives through the years on economic and other issues.

Across a lifetime of service to the Islamic Republic, Ghalibaf has become the consummate regime insider, unfailingly loyal to the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and supportive of its regional ambitions.

As a teenager, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

That marked the start of a lifelong association with the IRGC, which has evolved into a powerful force to suppress dissent at home and project Iran’s influence abroad.

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• bombing, Iran war, Israel, peace talks, Tehran

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