Trump touts ‘significant’ Iran ‘present’ linked to Strait of Hormuz as deal talks heat up
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced Iran wants to “make a deal” with the U.S., noting the country’s leadership gave the U.S. a “significant prize” related to the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of oil.
While speaking to reporters in the White House Oval Office, Trump said Iranian leadership sent the gift on Monday, and it arrived on Tuesday.
“They’re going to make a deal. They did something [Monday] that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present,” Trump said. “The present arrived today, and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.”
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Trump said he could not disclose what the gift was, but said it was “oil and gas-related” and was connected to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian regime was previously charging some tankers millions of dollars to pass through the global shipping choke point, according to a report from Iran International.
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Trump added the unspecified present was “very significant.”
“That meant one thing to me — we’re dealing with the right people,” Trump said. “… It was a very nice thing they did. … They said they were going to do it, and it happened. And they’re the only ones that could have done it.”
When asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz, he said the U.S. will “have control of anything we want.”
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“They can’t have certain things,” Trump said. “It starts with no nuclear weapons, and they’ve agreed to that. … They’re not going to have enrichment — any of those things. … We are in about the best bargaining position. We’re way ahead of schedule.”
Negotiations are being headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, according to the president.
Who actually runs Iran right now? The key power players as Trump claims talks to ‘top’ official
“Nobody knows who to talk to,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the White House, describing what he portrayed as both chaos and opportunity inside Iran’s leadership. “But we’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly.”
His remarks come as the U.S. claims it is engaged in talks with a “top” Iranian figure, even as Tehran publicly denies negotiations are taking place.
The question now is not just whether talks are happening, but whether anyone in Tehran has the authority to deliver. With U.S.-Israel strikes on senior Iranian leadership and growing internal fractures, Iran appears to be operating less like a centralized theocracy and more like a wartime system run by overlapping power centers, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at its core.
Here’s who matters now.
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The IRGC: The real power behind the state
Across intelligence assessments and recent reporting, one conclusion is consistent: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has emerged as the dominant force in Iran’s political system.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Washington, D.C., think tank, said the current moment is accelerating a long-standing trend.
“No doubt both the 12-Day war and this current conflict have trimmed the commanding heights of the Islamic Republic’s political and military leadership,” he said. “But it has also expedited the trend lines inherent in Iranian politics, which is the dominance of the security forces and the ascendance of the IRGC.”
“Yes, there is more IRGC control over the state than ever before, but the state is weaker than ever before and more of a national security rump state than ever before,” he said.
“It shouldn’t particularly preoccupy Washington, who is and isn’t offering negotiations,” Ben Taleblu added. “The preeminent preoccupation of Washington has to be working toward a military win at a political win, and that does not come by working with the IRGC, but actually beating them on the battlefield and supporting the forces most arrayed against them in Iran, which are the Iranian people.”
The command room: Supreme National Security Council
If the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the power in Iran, the Supreme National Security Council appears to be the mechanism through which that power is exercised.
The Supreme National Security Council is Iran’s top forum for coordinating military and foreign policy, bringing together senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and government officials under the authority of the supreme leader. It was established after the 1979 revolution and has played a central role in managing major crises, from nuclear negotiations to wartime operations.
Iran appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, as secretary of the council, reinforcing its central role in coordinating military and political decisions, Reuters reported Tuesday.
A Middle Eastern official source with knowledge of the system described the structure.
“Right now, the power is in the hands of the IRGC,” the source said. “The Supreme National Security Council makes the decisions, of course, with the backing of the majority of IRGC commanders.”
Mojtaba Khamenei: The supreme leader in name
Formally, Iran’s system centers on Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. But his actual grip on power remains uncertain.
Khamenei inherited the position’s sweeping authority following his father’s death, but “lacks the automatic authority enjoyed by his father,” the Middle Eastern official said.
Moreover, he has not appeared publicly since taking power and only has issued written statements, raising questions about both his health and his ability to govern, after reportedly being injured in the initial Feb. 28 U.S.–Israeli strikes that killed his father and other senior Iranian leaders.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, suggested his role may currently be limited: “For the time being, since Mojtaba has been injured, it seems he’s a hologram and not holding power. However, if Mojtaba recovers, he will be involved in ruling Iran. He is not just a figurehead. But anyhow, for the time being, the control of Iran is in the hands of the revolutionary guards.”
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Ghalibaf: The man at the center of Trump’s claim
Trump’s statement that he is speaking to a “top person” has focused attention on one name in particular: Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
The White House is quietly exploring Ghalibaf as a potential interlocutor and even a possible future leader, Axios reported.
A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander and current parliament speaker, Ghalibaf represents a hybrid figure inside the system, bridging military credentials and political authority.
He was one of the key security figures involved in the crackdown on student protests in July 1999 and has run for president four times since 2005.
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Ghalibaf is expected to meet U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the capital of Pakistan as early as the end of the week.
Ben Taleblu said: “Those who see the ascendants of someone like Ghalibaf, who is an IRGC veteran, having extended power outside his traditional civilian rule, have missed the decades of how personality, not profession, has been the driving force in Iranian politics for the past few decades. I would also say those who worry about the IRGC background of the Supreme National Security Council are all that in Iran today, may have missed the fact that the past few Supreme National Security Council Secretaries, Shamkhani, Larijani, Ahmadian, all also had IRGC backgrounds.”
At the same time, Ghalibaf has publicly denied engaging in talks with the United States, and no direct confirmation of negotiations has been provided by either side.
Araghchi: The diplomat carrying messages
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi remains one of the most visible figures internationally.
If talks were to take place, Araghchi likely would be part of the Iranian delegation alongside Ghalibaf, Reuters reported.
But analysts caution that his role is limited. He may act as a channel for communication, but does not set policy independently.
Strategic decisions, particularly on war and negotiations, are still shaped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the broader security establishment.
The wider power circle: generals, clerics and enforcers
Beyond the headline figures, a broader group of officials who continue to shape Iran’s direction can be identified.
These include Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Ahmad Vahidi, Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, naval commander Alireza Tangsiri, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior clerical and political figures such as Saeed Jalili and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.
Each represents a different pillar of the system: military power, regional proxy operations, control of strategic waterways, internal repression and religious legitimacy.
Together, they form what analysts describe as a fragmented but resilient governing network.
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Despite internal divisions, Iran’s leadership remains united on one core objective: survival of the regime.
Kuperwasser described the split: “There are the more pragmatic elites, like Araghchi, Rouhani, and Zarif. There are also the hardliners who have usually held the upper hand … But they are united in one issue — that the regime should survive and stay in power.”
Iran’s U.N. mission did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Trump energy czar says Iran conflict gas spike is ‘temporary blip’ as drilling push ramps up
EXCLUSIVE: Despite the ongoing conflict in Iran, President Donald Trump’s “energy czar,” Doug Burgum, is confident the “temporary blip up” in gas and energy prices facing Americans will come back down very soon as the president’s “drill baby drill” agenda takes effect.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Burgum, who leads the Interior Department and chair of Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, said: “It’s all about supply.”
“You want prices to go down? Supply has got to go up,” he said. To this end, he said his agency approved a record 6,000-plus drilling permits on U.S. soil, reversing the Biden administration’s trend of increased regulation that he said had stunted the country’s energy independence.
“We have a temporary blip up now because of the conflict in the Middle East, but as you heard the news earlier this morning, energy prices dropped a lot today, and stock markets [are] up and energy prices down; those are all positive things for working Americans to have those two things happening simultaneously,” he said.
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Despite criticism of the president’s actions on the global stage, Burgum said these moves, such as the military intervention in Venezuela and negotiations with leadership, are going to help reduce prices for Americans.
“What happened in Venezuela actually helps Americans a lot because now we’ve got Venezuelan oil flowing towards Gulf of America refineries in Louisiana and Texas,” he said.
Another major policy shift Burgum said he expects to make a big difference for Americans is the administration’s actions to “unleash Alaska.”
“The Biden administration had taken over 70 legal actions, executive orders from President Biden to regulatory actions, which were essentially sanctioning Alaska more than we sanctioned Iran during the last administration,” he explained.
Pressed on when Americans can expect to start seeing prices tick back down, Burgum said, “I think we started to see how they were happening and they happened quite effectively over the first year of the Trump administration.” He also pointed out that prices “vary a lot” depending on which state you live in and the extent of regulation and taxes placed on oil and gas production.
“Consumers need to understand that it is not just federal action, but it’s state and local action that’s often driving up the cost of your energy,” he said. “It’s not quite as simple as red state versus blue state. But if you take a look at gas prices before the war, red states were among all the lowest states in the country, blue states were among the highest in terms of that. And it was a reflection of the policies of those state legislatures and those governors that were driving energy prices up.”
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As an example, he said that just a month ago, gas prices in Iowa were under $2 per gallon, while the price in California was $5.
“California imports 63 percent of its oil from foreign countries,” he explained, adding, “At the time of this breakout with Iran … California, by their own data, provided by the state of California, the number one country they were importing oil from in California was from Iraq.”
“They always brag about, ‘Oh, if we were a country, we’d have one of the world’s largest economies.’ And if they were a county, they would have designed for themselves one of the most energy-dependent and energy-expensive economies,” he said of California.
“They’re not saving the planet by using foreign oil in California when you could have been getting clean, reliable, affordable energy, say from the Permian Basin in Texas or New Mexico,” he continued. “When you think you’re saving the planet by blocking U.S. infrastructure, you artificially raise the prices.”
To push back on this, Burgum said that, authorized by Trump’s energy emergency declaration, Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently ordered California to reopen its Santa Ynez pipeline system to resume pumping domestic offshore oil. The order is being challenged by California in court; however, oil has already begun being pumped.
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He framed the administration’s “energy abundance” agenda as a move back to reality after four years of “climate fantasy” under former President Joe Biden. This move, he said, stands in stark opposition to policies still being pursued in blue states like California.
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“We’re focused on energy reality, which is all Americans deserve and need to have reliable, affordable, and secure energy,” he said. “We’re fighting for every citizen in the country, regardless of what state regime they’re under. Because like I said, every American, no matter where you live, deserves to have affordable, reliable, and nationally secure energy.”
“The Trump administration is working overtime to point fingers at California after launching a war with no plan to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway where 20% of global oil trade passes through daily. The result: Trump sent crude prices through the roof which directly translates into higher gas prices in every state, regardless of whether that state pumps oil or has refineries.
In response, Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that “if the Secretary really wants to talk about ‘getting clean, reliable energy,’ he should answer why the Trump Administration has canceled wind and solar contracts, gutted energy and transportation tax credits, and dragged the auto industry back to gas-powered vehicles that leave American families exposed to exactly the kind of price shock they’re experiencing right now.”
“National security and energy experts — Republican and Democrat alike — saw this risk coming. Donald Trump ignored them, launched a war anyway, and is now using this historic price spike they caused to distract Americans from their own failure,” he said, adding that “while they’re busy blaming California, Donald Trump is handing nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer money to stop a job-creating, clean power-generating wind farm from being built off the East Coast — selling America out to his Big Oil donors.”
“When Americans are paying more at the pump because of a war overseas they didn’t support, Donald Trump doesn’t get to call that an energy independence agenda,” said Martinez.
Fox News Digital also reached out to spokespeople for Biden.