March 18th, 2026: Who’s Actually In Charge Of Iran Right Now? & Trump Delays China Trip
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Is there anyone left in Tehran with the authority to make a deal with the U.S.?
It's Wednesday, the 18th of March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new reports from the U.S. side say there's been back-channel communication between the U.S. and Iran. However, the Iranian regime is denying that there are any discussions taking place. But it does raise a bigger question. Even if messages are being exchanged, is there anyone left in Tehran who could actually make a deal? I'll have the details. Later in the show, President Trump hits pause on a high-stakes summit in China, delaying the visit by weeks as the White House shifts its full attention to the war with Iran. Plus, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan deteriorate even further after a deadly airstrike in Kabul kills dozens.
And in today's back of the brief, an update on President Trump's efforts to build a Hormuz coalition. As many nations say, thanks, but no thanks. But first, our PDB Spotlight. We'll start today with reports suggesting that the US and Iran may have quietly reopened lines of communication with messages allegedly passed through back channels in recent days as the war continues into its third week. At the same time, Iranian officials are publicly denying that any such talks are taking place. And President Trump, when asked about it, he said Iranian officials are in fact reaching out, but added that the U.S. has no clear idea who those individuals are or whether they actually have the authority to speak on behalf of the regime.
And that gets to the real story here. Because the question is not simply whether messages are being exchanged between Washington and Tehran. The more important question is who inside Iran still has the authority to make those conversations mean anything? Now, according to reporting from Axios, the contact, if it is happening, appears to involve U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. The outreach purportedly came from the Iranian side and was focused on finding a way to end the conflict. If accurate, that would mark the first significant communication between the two sides since the war began. But Orochi has publicly denied it, insisting that his last contact with Witkow came before the conflict, and dismissing the reports as misleading.
It's entirely possible that both sides are telling a version of the truth. Quiet back-channel communication is not unusual in a conflict like this, and public denials can serve their own strategic purpose. Neither side wants to appear as though it's seeking negotiations from a position of weakness. But even if messages are being exchanged, there's a more fundamental issue at play, one that raises serious questions about whether any of this communication could actually lead to an agreement. And that issue is authority inside the regime. Despite his role as foreign minister, Aradji was never considered one of the regime's primary decision makers. U.S. officials don't believe he has the power to negotiate or commit Iran to any meaningful deal.
At most, he appears to be serving as an intermediary, someone who can pass messages along, but not necessarily someone who can make decisions. So who exactly within the regime would he be speaking for? Prior to recent developments, U.S. officials believed that role was being filled by Ali Laranjani, who had emerged as a central figure inside Iran's leadership structure following the death of the previous supreme leader. Larajani appeared to be acting as a kind of coordinator, bridging the gap between the country's political leadership, its security apparatus, and other centers of power within the regime. In other words, if there was someone capable of negotiating on Iran's behalf, it was likely him.
But with reports now indicating that Larajani, by the way, the architect behind the murder of thousands of Iranians during the recent protests, has been killed in an airstrike, well, that structure may no longer exist. And that leaves a significant gap.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Is there anyone left in Tehran with the authority to make a deal with the U.S.?
0:12–4:12
2
Why did President Trump delay his trip to China?
4:12–5:33
3
What are the implications of the Pakistani airstrike in Kabul?
5:33–6:08
4
How is President Trump attempting to build a Hormuz coalition?
6:08–10:16
5
What challenges does the U.S. face in forming a multinational coalition?
10:16–21:45
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