Having the ability to bolster oil and bond markets, headlines are a vital instrument for the United States in their war against Iran. But the markets stopped listening to Trump last week. The new meme going around is that one should only take news of diplomacy seriously if it comes from the Iranians. Therefore, in order to calm the markets, the US needed a headline claiming that Iran itself expressed a desire to end the war. And that is what we got today when this news claiming that the President of Iran wants peace with the United States broke in the west-aligned media.

But the headline is a lie. The facts of the story are that the president of Iran spoke with the president of the European Council and said Iran has “necessary will [to end the conflict] provided that essential conditions are met, especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression."

This is no different than the position articulated over two weeks ago when they rejected the United States’ 15-point peace proposal and responded with their own. Iran will accept an end to the war when their demands are met, and those demands include permanent security guarantees against future aggression, reparations for the war, and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz—none of which the US and Israel will consent to.

The Iranian president’s comments were not news, but the western aligned press were willing to frame them in such a way that it would boost stocks, reduce 10Y yield, and reduce the price of oil—all of which are mechanisms Iran uses to win this war against the United States. In the economic war against Iran, headlines are one of the United States’ most powerful assets and should be treated as such by readers looking for the truth about the conflict.