Can’t keep his fingers still: US President Donald Trump sabotaged his officials’ negotiations with social media posts, according to a report.Image: keystone
According to a media report, Donald Trump thwarted his negotiators in negotiating a deal with Iran by releasing a series of social media posts at an inopportune moment.
Apr 21, 2026, 7:47 amApril 21, 2026, 07:55
The situation surrounding the Iran war is confusing. There are always contradictory statements from both warring parties. While officially there are no longer any negotiations, reports CNNthat US officials were close to striking a deal with Iran as recently as the weekend.
But then Donald Trump, of all people, apparently put a stop to this plan. Some US government employees anonymously reported to the news channel that Trump’s social media posts, which he made over the weekend, came at a very inopportune moment and deterred or angered the Iranians.
Trump made a series of posts on social media over the weekend informing the public about alleged progress and concessions by the Iranians. The US President wrote, among other things, that the Iranians had agreed to a number of US conditions – including those that are very controversial, such as the handover of enriched uranium and the suspension of the nuclear program.
It didn’t take long for Iranian officials to deny a possible agreement on sensitive issues. In addition, reports were spread via state news agencies that the Iranian government was no longer willing to enter into a new round of negotiations with the USA.
According to an insider’s statement to CNN, the Iranians, for their part are concerned with power struggles between the political and military eliteparticularly upset because Trump’s tweets suggested that the US was dictating the negotiations.
“The Iranians did not appreciate that the US president negotiated on social media and gave the impression that they had approved terms that they had not yet agreed to and that were not popular with their people at home.”
The Iranian regime therefore wants to avoid appearing weak at all costs. What happens next is unclear. The 14-day ceasefire expires on Thursday night (Swiss time). Both sides have so far been adamant in public.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt claimed again on Tuesday night that they were on the verge of a “good deal” for the USA that was better than the nuclear agreement concluded by Barack Obama and terminated by Trump. However, in view of recent events, rapid negotiation success seems questionable. According to the CNN source, new attempts to start talks will take place on Wednesday evening. However, the situation is “dynamic”.
(con)