Trump Claims US Negotiating with 'More Reasonable' Iranian Leaders

Former US President Donald Trump has stated that the United States is engaged in discussions with a new group of Iranian leaders, whom he described as "more reasonable." He made these remarks during a 19-minute address to the nation on Wednesday evening, April 1, Eastern Time (early morning Thursday, April 2, Kazakhstan time).

"Discussions are ongoing. Regime change was not our goal. We never spoke about 'regime change,' but it happened because all their previous leaders perished. They are all dead," Trump explained.

In his view, this new group is "less radical and much more reasonable." At the start of his speech, the former president indicated that US strategic objectives in Iran were "close to completion," though he did not specify when exactly these goals would be considered achieved.

Following this, Trump asserted that the United States would not slow the pace of its bombing campaign against Iran and threatened Tehran with new strikes "in the next two to three weeks." He stated that the US would return Iran "to the Stone Age, where they belong."

Previously, Trump claimed on social media that Iran had requested a ceasefire but that he would not consider it until Tehran ceased blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global fuel transit route. Iranian officials have denied making any such requests.