US-Iran Conflict: Trump agrees to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership amid rising tensions

US-Iran Conflict: US President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic magazine that Iran’s new leadership has expressed interest in opening talks with him, and that he has agreed to engage in discussions with them, according to a report by The Times of India.

"They want to talk, and I agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should do it sooner. They should have done what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long," Trump said.

However, following the reported death of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a US attack on Israel, the new leader of Iran has yet to be announced.

Additionally, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that a leadership council composed of himself, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the powerful Guardian Council has temporarily assumed the duties of the supreme leader following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, TOI reported.

On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel reportedly launched coordinated strikes (Operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury) targeting Iranian military sites, nuclear facilities, and leadership in Tehran, Isfahan, and other cities.

As a result, Iran retaliated immediately with missile and drone barrages targeting US bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, along with strikes on Israel. Explosions reportedly hit civilian areas, including Dubai and other locations.

In an address, Trump framed the appeal as part of a broader effort to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear threat. He accused the Iranian regime of nearly five decades of hostility toward the United States and Israel, citing chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” as evidence of its extremist agenda.

“These actions are right, and they are necessary to ensure that Americans will never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons and lots of threats,” Trump said. “For almost 50 years, these wicked extremists have been attacking the United States while chanting the slogans ‘death to America’ or ‘death to Israel’ or both. They are the world’s number one state sponsor of terror… These intolerable threats will not continue any longer.”

The president’s remarks included a direct appeal to Iranian citizens, whom he described as “patriots who yearn for freedom.” He called on them to “seize this moment, be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country,” pledging that “America is with you.”