US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has said that he needs to "stop killing Iranian leaders" to figure out with whom Washington can negotiate with, while reiterating that Tehran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.Speaking at a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump claimed that Iran had lost its top leaders and military capabilities, making it difficult for the US to find anyone with whom to negotiate.“I gotta stop” killing Iranian leaders, Trump told the rally, “because I gotta figure out who the hell we're negotiating with.”“They don't have any airplanes, no ships, no anything, no leaders. Level one leader is gone, level two leader is gone,” he added, reiterating his claims about the destruction of Iran's military and leadership.
Trump also defended his 2018 decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated under former president Barack Obama.“We obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” Trump said, referring to US military operations in 2025 and between February and May this year.
“We defeated them militarily, financially, and otherwise. We have to make sure that they never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” he added.Trump had earlier indicated that the US could launch another attack on Iran, while also leaving open the possibility of reaching an agreement with Tehran.Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot in the midterm elections in Florida early on Saturday, Trump was asked whether the US would carry out a possible attack on Iran."Do you really think I'd tell you that? Maybe tomorrow...There's a possibility I will. There's also a possibility we'll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement. They want to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?" he said.The US president also praised the American military's role in the conflict and defended his administration's approach to West Asia."We have done an amazing job. Our Navy and military have done an amazing job.
They have knocked out every jet fighter of Iran. 259 ships are at the bottom of the sea. They are only left with record inflation," he added.Later on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of pushing itself into a crisis through miscalculations and its decision to wage war against Iran. He said the responsibility for resolving the confrontation rested with the US.According to remarks reported by Iranian news agency ISNA, Ghalibaf said Tehran had nothing new to add to its position."As I have also stated previously, we have nothing new to say. It was America that, through miscalculations and waging war against Iran, stepped into a quagmire, and it is now they who must take the necessary measures to rescue themselves," he said during a parliamentary session in Tehran.Ghalibaf rejected the suggestion that military threats or media pressure would force Iran to surrender."The Americans assume that with a few levers of media pressure or military threats, they can make this great nation surrender to them, unaware that today's Iran is not the Iran of the humiliating Pahlavi era, but rather a strong fortress of self-confidence, defensive capability, and iron will that will never allow any foreign power to dictate terms to the honour of this land," he said."We will not be intimidated, and we are prepared to deliver a response beyond their imagination to any violation of the territorial integrity of great Iran," Ghalibaf said. "Therefore, threats of widespread war or assassination are not matters that will make the Iranian nation compromise on its rights and interests."He added that diplomatic statements from Washington would carry little weight without a change in policy and concrete steps to address past commitments."Until the Americans change their behaviour, abandon their bullying nature and greed, and make tangible, concrete, and real amends on the ground for their violated commitments, no claim will hold a shred of credibility for the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran's policies would remain unchanged regardless of whether another war broke out. He warned that any further military action against Iran would be irrational.Araghchi also said the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its previous state following the 40-day war, arguing that the conflict had fundamentally changed the regional security landscape.