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Fact check: Was trump in negotiations with Iran when he dropped bombs on Iran on Saturday morning
1. Summary of the results
Based on the analyses provided, there is no evidence that Trump was in negotiations with Iran when he conducted bombing strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday, June 22, 2025. Multiple sources confirm that the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with one source indicating this was "an operation that was months in the planning" [1].
The evidence suggests the opposite of ongoing negotiations. One analysis indicates that Trump "had opened a window for negotiation, but ultimately decided to act" [2], implying that any diplomatic window had closed before the military action. Additionally, Trump had been "contradicting the US intelligence community's assessment that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon" [1] [3], suggesting a confrontational rather than negotiating stance.
The bombing operation targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and has created significant political fallout, with Trump facing "criticism from his supporters due to his decision to strike Iran, which contradicts his anti-interventionism stance" [4].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original question lacks several crucial pieces of context:
- Historical backdrop: The strikes occurred against the background of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, providing important context for the deteriorating US-Iran relations [5]
- Planning timeline: The operation was "months in the planning" [1], indicating this was not a spontaneous decision made during negotiations
- Intelligence disputes: Trump had been actively contradicting US intelligence assessments about Iran's nuclear program [1] [3], suggesting a predetermined hostile stance rather than diplomatic engagement
- Political consequences: The decision has created a significant rift within Trump's own political base, with MAGA anti-interventionists criticizing the action [6] [4]
- Disinformation concerns: The aftermath of the bombing has been accompanied by "a wave of disinformation" and AI-generated images being debunked [1] [7]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original question contains a fundamental factual error by suggesting Trump was simultaneously negotiating with and bombing Iran. The evidence from all sources indicates these were mutually exclusive actions - no negotiations were taking place at the time of the bombing.
The framing of the question may reflect several biases:
- False premise: It assumes negotiations were occurring when evidence suggests the opposite
- Temporal confusion: It may conflate different time periods or diplomatic efforts
- Oversimplification: It reduces a complex geopolitical situation involving months of planning to a single moment of contradiction
The question's structure implies a contradiction or hypocrisy that the available evidence does not support, potentially serving to create confusion about the actual sequence of events surrounding this significant military action.