ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the ongoing US‑Israeli campaign against Iran has crippled Tehran’s military capabilities, noting that Iranian officials are seeking negotiations - an outreach adamantly denied by Tehran’s top diplomat. Earlier in the day, Trump insisted he must have a role in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader.
Speaking at an event at the White House, Trump stated that “the United States military, together with the wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule,” adding, “we're destroying more of Iran's missiles and drone capabilities every single hour.”
He also said that Tehran’s “navy is gone,” noting that “24 ships [have been targeted] in three days,” and that its “anti-aircraft weapons are gone, so they have no air force, no air defense, all of their airplanes are gone, their communications are gone, missiles are gone, and [missile] launchers are gone by about 60 to 64 percent, respectively.”
Notably, the US president said that while the Iranian side is “tough and they want to fight,” officials from Tehran “are calling, asking, ‘How do we make a deal?’” - to which he responded, “You're a little late … we want to fight now more than they do.”
The latter remarks come despite Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling NBC News hours earlier that Iran “is not asking for a ceasefire,” nor does it “see any reason to negotiate with the US,” adding, “We negotiated with them twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations.”
“There is no request for a ceasefire by us, and there is no request for negotiations with the US from us,” the top Iranian diplomat said, denying reports that messages have been sent from the Iranian side to Washington in that regard.
The public messaging from the American and Iranian sides comes as the US-Israel campaign entered its sixth day on Thursday, with bombardments largely targeting security and military installations as well as government institutions across the country.
The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of Iran reported on Thursday that the campaign has so far killed approximately 1,230 people in attacks across around 174 Iranian cities.
The campaign also killed longtime Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday.
In the aftermath, a three-member leadership council - comprising Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi of the Assembly of Experts - has been established to assume Khamenei’s duties until a new supreme leader is appointed.
Earlier on Thursday, the US president stressed that he must have a say in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader, rejecting media speculation that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, could succeed his slain father and dismissing him as a “lightweight.”
"I have to be involved in the appointment," Trump told Axios, adding that "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran." He further threatened more war in the future if a better alternative was not found.