- By Chetna Shree
- Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:33 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
US-Iran Tensions: A day after US-Israel air strikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Tehran's new leadership wants to have a discussion with him and that he has agreed.
"They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long," Trump told The Atlantic.
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When asked about the dates of the talks, he said, "I can’t tell you that". He also pointed out that Iranians who had participated in the negotiations in recent weeks were no longer alive.
"Most of those people are gone. Some of the people we were dealing with are gone, because that was a big—that was a big hit," he said. "They should have done it sooner, Michael. They could have made a deal. They should’ve done it sooner. They played too cute," he added.
48 Iranian Leaders Killed In One Shot: Trump
Earlier in the day, Trump said that 48 Iranian leaders have been killed in the strikes launched Saturday by the United States and Israel.
"Nobody can believe the success we’re having; 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly," Fox News quoted Trump as saying.
His remarks come as the Pentagon and the Israel Defence Forces continue evaluating the impact of the strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior commanders.
Iran Outlines Timeline For Selection Of Supreme Leader
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Saturday outlined a timeline for selecting a new supreme leader, stating that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's successor will be chosen within 'one or two days'. This comes a day after Iran's Supreme Leader was killed in coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Araghchi said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's successor will be chosen in one or two days, adding that Iran's state institutions "are in place" and that the country "has constitutional procedures in place".
"You may see the selection of a supreme leader in a day or two," Al Jazeera quoted Araghchi as saying.