If you're trying to strike a nuclear deal with Donald Trump, threatening to sink U.S. aircraft carriers probably isn't the opening move. That's the message billionaire investor Bill Ackman delivered Sunday after Iran released an AI-generated propaganda video showing a simulated attack on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Bill Ackman Says Iran's AI War-Game Video Is Terrible Diplomacy With Trump
MarketDash
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman slammed Iran's latest propaganda stunt—an AI-generated video showing an attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier—as a spectacularly bad way to negotiate with President Trump. His warning: this regime poses an existential threat that can't be bargained with.
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When Psychological Warfare Backfires
"This is not a good negotiating strategy with President @realDonaldTrump. That said, I don't think there is anything to negotiate with this regime," Ackman wrote on X.
The video in question—flagged by open-source intelligence accounts and distributed through media linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—depicts the carrier being sunk as the strike group operates near Iranian waters. It's the kind of psychological intimidation tactic that Tehran has deployed before, but the timing is particularly notable given ongoing diplomatic contacts between Washington and Iran.
Ackman's Escalating Warnings on Iran
The Pershing Square Capital Management founder has positioned himself as one of Wall Street's loudest voices on the Iranian threat. Late last month, he urged President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to watch an Iran International documentary titled "Iran's 2026 Massacre: Inside the Kahrizak Morgue," which he described as evidence of "one of the greatest crimes against humanity in recent decades."
Ackman has characterized the Iranian government as an "extremely serious persistent and long-term existential threat" and previously called on Trump to "finish the job" when dealing with the regime.
Talks Continue Despite Tensions
The AI video controversy comes as Washington and Tehran quietly explore diplomatic channels. According to an Axios report, Trump said Friday that the U.S. and Iran had "very good talks" in Oman, noting that Iran's stance on a potential nuclear agreement appears more favorable than it did before last June's 12-day war. The president emphasized he's "in no rush" to pursue military action and would prefer a negotiated solution.
Still, Trump hasn't eased the pressure. In a Wednesday interview, he warned that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be "very worried" as American military forces concentrate in the region.
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