‘I Have Agreed’: Trump Says Iran’s New Leaders ‘Want To Talk’

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s newly installed leadership wants to resume negotiations, one day after a massive U.S.-Israeli military operation killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump told The Atlantic in a phone call from Mar-a-Lago. “They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.”

Trump faulted Tehran for stalling weeks of diplomatic efforts and acknowledged that several Iranian officials who participated in those discussions died in the strikes. “Most of those people are gone,” he told the magazine. “They played too cute.” He declined to specify when negotiations would begin. (RELATED: Sen Fetterman Says Trump’s Iran Strike Was ‘Entirely Appropriate’ Response To Longstanding Threat)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a three-member council had temporarily taken over the supreme leader’s responsibilities, Reuters reported. The body consists of Pezeshkian, the judiciary chief, and a Guardians Council representative.

Exclusive: “I have agreed to talk”: Trump tells @michaelscherer that he plans to speak with Iran’s new leadership. Read more from his interview: https://t.co/e4Boih6rqA

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 1, 2026

A senior White House official separately told The Associated Press that Iran’s “new potential leadership” had signaled a willingness to engage with Washington. The official noted, however, that the military campaign “continues unabated.”

Trump voiced certainty that Iranians would topple the Islamic regime, citing public celebrations inside the country and among expatriate communities in Los Angeles and New York, according to The Atlantic. In a video posted Saturday, he called on the Iranian people directly. “Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” Trump said.

The president told CNBC the operation was “ahead of schedule” and “moving along very well.”

Three U.S. service members died and five others suffered serious wounds during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday.

Trump cast the military action as decades overdue. “People have wanted to do it for 47 years,” he told The Atlantic.