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‘Too late’: Donald Trump on talks with Iran amid escalating war
The United States, along with Israel, continued its military operation against Iran that had begun on February 28 and has resulted in hundreds of deaths.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran wanted to talk, but it was too late, amid escalating war between the Washington-Israel coalition and Tehran that has engulfed the West Asian region.
The United States, along with Israel, continued its military operation against Iran that had begun on February 28 and has resulted in hundreds of deaths, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of Tehran's top political and military leadership.
"Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said, “Too Late!" Trump said in a Truth Social post commenting on an opinion piece.
Iran has been retaliating even as the US and Israel continued their strikes as of Tuesday, and has expanded the area coming under the barrage of Iranian missiles and drones, targeting several of Washington's assets in the region.
Iranian drones slammed into the US embassy in Saudi Arabia, causing minor damage and starting a fire, after previously hitting the mission in Kuwait. Washington responded by shutting those missions and ordering non-emergency government personnel and their families to leave countries across West Asia.
Tehran is also firing missiles and drones at neighbouring Arab states and strangling shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas trade travels past its coast.
The US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Israel, where Iranian missiles struck several locations, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah has also attacked Israel, whose retaliatory strikes killed 52 people in Lebanon.
A U-turn from Trump?
Donald Trump's statement comes as a sort of U-turn after he said on Sunday that Iran's new leadership wants to talk to him and that he has agreed, according to an interview with Atlantic magazine.
"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," Trump said in the interview from his Florida residence.
However, the Republican leader did not specify who he would be speaking with or say whether it would occur on Sunday or Monday.
