President Trump said Sunday that Iran’s new leadership is already signaling it wants to cut a deal, just one day after a sweeping joint U.S.–Israeli military operation wiped out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sent shockwaves through Tehran.
Speaking by phone with The Atlantic from Mar a Lago, President Trump did not sound surprised by the sudden change in tone from Iran’s remaining leadership.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he said. “They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.”
That is one way to describe it.
The strikes, part of what has been described as a coordinated campaign targeting Iranian military and regime leadership sites, effectively decapitated the ruling structure that has dominated Iran since 1979. In the aftermath, video began circulating showing celebrations among regime opponents inside Iran and in expatriate communities in cities such as Los Angeles and New York.
President Trump made clear that Iranian officials had ample opportunity to negotiate before events reached this point. “Most of those people are gone,” he said of the officials who had been involved in earlier talks. “They played too cute.”
He did not specify when formal discussions would begin, but the message was unmistakable. The window for easy diplomacy has closed, and whatever talks happen next will occur in a dramatically altered landscape.
According to Reuters, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that a three member council has temporarily assumed the supreme leader’s duties. That council includes Pezeshkian, the judiciary chief, and a representative of the Guardians Council. In other words, a regime scrambling to maintain continuity after losing its top authority.
A senior White House official told The Associated Press that Iran’s “new potential leadership” has expressed openness to discussions with Washington. At the same time, the official emphasized that the military campaign “continues unabated.” Translation, talks or no talks, the pressure is not being lifted.
President Trump also addressed the Iranian people directly in a video message on Saturday. “Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” he said.
He later told CNBC that the operation was “ahead of schedule” and “moving along very well.”
The cost has not been zero. U.S. Central Command confirmed that three American service members were killed and five seriously wounded during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury. Their sacrifice underscores the gravity of the moment.
Still, President Trump framed the strike as something that had been delayed for decades. “People have wanted to do it for 47 years,” he said.
Now the regime that survived for nearly half a century is suddenly talking about negotiations. Whether those talks lead to real change or simply buy time remains to be seen. But the balance of power, at least for the moment, has undeniably shifted.
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