After strikes, Trump claims Iran has reached out for talks and he will be speaking with them

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s new leadership has reached out for talks and that he has agreed, even as military operations between the two sides continue to escalate. 

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In an interview with The Atlantic from his Florida residence, Trump said, “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.” 

He added that key figures from earlier negotiations were no longer alive. “Most of those people are gone,” he said. “Some of the people we were dealing with are gone, because that was a big—that was a big hit.” 

Speaking separately to Fox News, Trump claimed that 48 leaders had been killed in US and Israeli strikes on Iran. 

“It’s moving along. It’s moving along rapidly. This has been this way for 47 years,” he is quoted as saying in an interview with Fox News. “It’s moving along rapidly. Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly.” 

In another interview, this with CNBC, Trump said US military operations in Iran are “ahead of schedule.” 

Iran, however, pushed back on the impact of the strikes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that despite the attacks, “nothing has changed in our … military capability.” 

In an interview with  ABC News, Araghchi said Tehran retaliated within hours of being struck. “and we have continued to do so. So, our military is in place. They are capable enough to defend our country.” 

On the prospects of diplomacy, he struck a cautious note. “We negotiated with the United States twice in the past 12 months. And in both cases, they attacked us in the middle of negotiation. And that has become a very bitter experience for us.” 

He added that “a deal was at our reach, and we left Geneva happily with the understanding that we can reach a deal next time we meet.”