Donald Trump: New Iranian leaders want to talk, but they waited too long

2026-03-01 19:19:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Donald Trump: New Iranian leaders want to talk, but they waited too long

President Donald Trump has said that Iran's new leaders have expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue, although he stressed that they "should have acted sooner ." The comments come amid a fierce military campaign and reports of heavy casualties among senior Iranian officials.

During an interview Sunday morning with The Atlantic magazine, Trump confirmed to journalist Michael Scherer that his administration is open to negotiating.

"They want to talk and I have agreed to talk, so I will talk to them," the President said, adding that the Iranian side delayed the decision for a step that he said was "very practical and easy to do sooner."

Asked persistently by the reporter when these talks would resume, Trump refused to give a timeframe, briefly replying: "I can't tell you that."

The president did not specify which Iranian officials Washington is currently communicating with, but noted that many of their former contacts are no longer alive. “Most of those people are gone… because this was a great success,” he said, stressing that a deal could have been reached much earlier.

These statements take on even greater weight given the context of developments on the ground. Just moments before this interview, Trump told another journalist that as many as 48 Iranian leaders have been killed as a result of ongoing and coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran.

It remains unclear what the format of these new talks will be or who will represent the Iranian side at this potential dialogue table.


Video