“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.”
President Trump confirmed Sunday morning that Iranian leaders want to resume negotiations with the United States, telling The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer in a phone call from Mar-a-Lago that Iran’s new leadership has expressed willingness to talk. The president noted that some of the Iranian officials previously involved in negotiations are no longer alive, a development he attributed to the success of Saturday’s strikes. The Iran negotiations will proceed with whoever remains, officials indicated.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” the president said, speaking shortly before 9:30 a.m. He acknowledged that the diplomatic landscape had shifted overnight. “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.”
Asked whether the conversation would happen today or tomorrow, the president said he could not say. Asked whether he would support a prolonged bombing campaign to back the popular uprising he called for yesterday, the president said he would have to assess the situation at the time.
Strategic Objectives Continue To Develop
The interview revealed what officials described as “an evolving posture” on the campaign’s goals. In the span of a single phone call, the president indicated that Iran’s leadership wanted to negotiate, that the people of Iran should seize control of their destiny, that he might end the operation in two or three days, and that some of the people with whom negotiations might occur had been killed in the operation that created the conditions for negotiations.
A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the strategy was still being determined, confirmed that the administration was pursuing multiple tracks simultaneously. “We’re open to talks, we’re open to regime change, and we’re open to a limited strike followed by a declaration of comprehensive victory,” the official said. “The president will make the right call based on which one of those is happening.”
Saturday evening, in a video posted to social media, the president had called on Iranians to rise up, telling them it was “probably your only chance for generations.” By Sunday morning, he appeared to walk that back, expressing interest in preserving elements of the current government—specifically the elements that were still alive and willing to call.
Casualties Confirmed As Economy Praised
Shortly after the interview, U.S. military officials announced that three American service members had been killed and five seriously wounded—the first known casualties of the campaign. The president had used portions of the same call to praise the U.S. economy, which he described as “ready to go through the roof,” and to predict that oil market disruptions would be minimal given the early success of the operation.
“People have wanted to do it for 47 years,” the president said of the decision to strike Iran. He did not specify which people.
When asked whether renewed Iranian assassination threats against U.S. officials had materialized since Saturday’s strikes, the president declined to elaborate. “I don’t want to tell you that,” he said.
Iran Negotiations Expected to Resume With Available Counterparts
Administration officials confirmed that diplomatic channels remain open, though the specific composition of Iran’s negotiating team is, as one official put it, “subject to recent developments.” The president expressed confidence that celebrations in Iranian streets and among expatriate communities in New York and Los Angeles indicated broad support for the operation, though he also acknowledged that anti-war protests were occurring, in some cases blocks away from the pro-regime-change demonstrations.
“The people over there are shouting in the streets with happiness,” the president said. “But at the same time, there are a lot of bombs coming down.”
The president said he was pleased with the Iranian people’s response so far, noting that they had come out despite his own warning to stay in place because “it’s a very dangerous place right now.”
Officials said the next phase of the operation would depend on developments over the coming 48 to 72 hours, consistent with the administration’s established preference for declarable outcomes within that window. Oil markets reopen tonight.
Developing.
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