President Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt and called on anchor Bret Baier to “straighten out his flunkies” after taking issue with the network’s reporting on the stalled U.S.-Iran diplomatic effort, insisting that Tehran — rather than Washington — is seeking negotiations and is “begging to make a deal.”
The unusually sharp criticism of Fox News came Thursday night after Hunt reported on “Special Report” that there had been no significant diplomatic breakthrough toward ending the six-month conflict with Iran and that no direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran were currently underway.
Trump responded in a post on Truth Social, a screenshot of which circulated widely.
“Jonathan Hunt of FoxNews did a particularly inaccurate report on the Failing Islamic Republic of Iran. I don’t want to meet, they do. In fact, they are begging to make a deal. Bret Baier should straighten out his flunkies, for a change! President DJT,” Trump wrote.
Trump followed that message with another brief post declaring, “Iran Is a Failing Nation!”
The president’s criticism prompted an immediate response from Baier, who addressed Trump’s post on the air and defended Hunt.
“First of all, Jonathan Hunt is not a flunky. He’s a great reporter,” Baier said. “Second of all, Mr. President, we didn’t say you wanted to meet. In fact, we played a soundbite that you didn’t want to meet, and there are no negotiations.”
Baier said the Fox report had instead discussed efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to enlist international partners in increasing economic pressure on Tehran, as well as attempts by Gulf nations to convince Iranian leaders to make concessions.
“We said that Treasury Secretary Bessent is hoping to meet with G20 countries to increase the pressure on Iran, and that Gulf state allies, including Qatar, are inside Tehran trying to get Iran to agree to concessions,” Baier said. “That was what was said.”
Despite the dispute over the Fox report, Trump himself confirmed earlier Thursday that there are presently no direct negotiations with Tehran. He told reporters at the White House that his administration is focusing instead on ratcheting up economic pressure against the Iranian regime.
“We don’t want to speak to them. We’re not looking to meet or anything,” Trump said.
The distinction Trump drew was that the absence of negotiations is a result of Washington’s lack of interest in talks on Tehran’s current terms — rather than a lack of Iranian interest in reaching an agreement. His Truth Social post asserted that Iranian officials are actively seeking a deal.
Trump has made similar claims in recent days. Earlier this month, as a 60-day U.S.-Iran agreement expired, Trump said Tehran wanted an agreement but remained unwilling to accept Washington’s conditions.
“They want to make a deal, but they’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,” Trump said at the time.
The central issue, Trump said, remains Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“You understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
The president has repeatedly indicated that he feels little urgency to return to formal negotiations. In an interview this week with Al Jazeera, Trump said he was “not in a hurry” to resume talks and rejected the idea that he was operating under a deadline.
“I have no time schedule, none,” Trump said.
Trump also argued that the combination of American military and economic pressure has been “both effective,” describing Iran as suffering from “massive inflation” and saying its economy is “falling apart.” He additionally accused the Iranian government of “treating their people very badly, they are killing many, many protesters.”
The latest flare-up comes as the Trump administration increasingly shifts its emphasis toward economic warfare following months of military confrontation.
Bessent earlier this week announced “Operation Economic Outcast,” a campaign aimed at further isolating Iran financially and choking off sources of revenue available to the regime.
At the same time, the administration has made clear that the current pause in U.S. strikes does not mean military action has been taken off the table.
“By no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said this week.
Trump had also said on Aug. 18 that there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” while maintaining that the U.S. naval blockade remained in effect and asserting that the Strait of Hormuz was open and operating.
The president’s latest Truth Social post therefore did not announce the resumption of negotiations. Instead, it underscored his contention that Iran wants negotiations more urgently than the United States does — and opened a public dispute with Fox News over how the diplomatic stalemate was being portrayed.
For now, Washington and Tehran remain without formal negotiations, while the Trump administration continues to rely on economic pressure and the threat of renewed military action in an effort to force Iran to accept U.S. demands.
{Matzav.com}
