1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

The Trump administration is making unsupported claims about Iran negotiations and Congress must investigate. On March 16, Drop Site reported that two Iranian officials said Steve Witkoff sent messages to Tehran, including to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, seeking to resume talks, and Iran did not reply. Witkoff did not respond to requests for comment. The White House did not provide proof disproving the report. Instead, it attacked the outlet and called the story “pure fiction.” Less than an hour later, a U.S. official pushed the opposite account to Axios. Araghchi then publicly denied that version and said claims of contact were aimed at misleading “oil traders and the public.” On March 23, Trump again claimed “GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS,” but Iran immediately denied that too. Iran’s parliament speaker called it “Fake news,” and a senior Iranian official said “There aren’t any negotiations taking place,” only indirect messages through third countries. Congress must stop accepting unsupported White House claims about diplomacy at face value. Demand the evidence. Demand the records. Demand oversight hearings. If the administration claims direct talks, it must prove it. If it cannot, Congress must investigate whether the public is being misled to justify escalation and manipulate public perception during war.