US President Donald Trump has agreed to enter negotiations with Iran’s new leadership, just one day after a major American military operation killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the region into war.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago club on Sunday morning, the president told The Atlantic magazine that the Iranian side had requested a dialogue.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump said, though he criticised the previous leadership for waiting “too long” to reach a deal.
Casualties and military impact
The operation has resulted in the first confirmed American casualties of the campaign. US military officials announced that three service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded during the operation.
Regarding Iranian losses, Trump noted that the strike was significant enough that many officials previously involved in negotiations were no longer alive. “Most of those people are gone… because that was a big hit,” he remarked, adding that the Iranian leadership had “played too cute” in the past.
Calls for uprising
In a social media address following the strikes, the President called on the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny” and rise up against the regime.
While Trump expressed confidence that a successful uprising was imminent – citing reports of celebrations in Iran and among expatriate communities in Los Angeles and New York – he remained non-committal on whether US bombing would be prolonged to support such a movement.
He acknowledged the precarious situation on the ground, describing it as “very dangerous” for civilians while “bombs [are] coming down”. Alongside reports of pro-regime-change celebrations, large anti-war protests have also been recorded in several major cities.
Economic and security outlook
Addressing domestic concerns, the President dismissed fears that the conflict would destabilise the American economy ahead of the autumn midterm elections.
He asserted that the economy is “ready to go through the roof” and predicted that the impact on oil markets, which reopen tonight, would be less disruptive to consumers than analysts had anticipated.
When questioned about potential retaliatory threats or Iranian-led assassination plots against US officials – a concern long tracked by the intelligence community – the President declined to provide specific details on renewed indications of threats to the American homeland.
Trump concluded by framing the attack as a reversal of a 47-year trend of Iranian aggression, stating, “People have wanted to do it for 47 years… and now it’s reversed on them.”
