The US president says Washington needs to establish whom it can negotiate with as tensions with Tehran persist, while Iran warns that renewed military action will not change its policies.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said Washington needs to identify its Iranian counterparts for negotiations, claiming that the country has lost several senior leaders following US-Israeli airstrikes during the ongoing conflict.
Speaking at a rally on Sunday, Trump said Iran had lost much of its military capability and senior leadership, making it difficult for Washington to determine whom to engage in talks.
“They have no airplanes, no ships, no leaders, no anything,” Trump said, referring to the deaths of senior Iranian figures. He added that he needed to stop targeting the country’s leadership to establish “with whom we are negotiating”. A video of his remarks has since circulated widely online.
During the initial weeks of the conflict, US and Israeli strikes killed several senior Iranian political and military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the report. His successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, was also seriously injured and has issued statements but has yet to appear publicly.
The United States and Iran have been engaged in intermittent hostilities over the past nine months, although strikes have been temporarily halted. Trump has suggested that military action could resume after the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Washington has also deployed a third aircraft carrier group, along with 10,000 sailors and Marines, amid the heightened tensions.
Iran, meanwhile, has indicated that it remains prepared for a possible resumption of hostilities. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that renewed fighting would not alter Tehran’s policies.
“Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same,” Araghchi said, according to the report cited by AFP. He added that Iran had already faced attacks twice and warned that another attempt would not produce a different outcome.
The tensions have also affected the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route for global oil shipments. Iran and the United States have exchanged fire intermittently in and around the waterway, although such incidents have eased in recent weeks.
Araghchi warned that the conflict could permanently alter how the strait operates, arguing that shipping routes and arrangements for managing the passage would no longer remain as they were before the war.
Trump’s latest remarks and Iran’s warning come amid uncertainty over whether the temporary halt in strikes will lead to renewed negotiations or another round of military confrontation. The two sides have yet to signal a clear path towards a lasting settlement.
