Context:

President Trump claimed Iran’s newly established leadership is willing to negotiate, a day after a major U.S.-Israeli operation killed Iran’s supreme leader and stirred prospects for talks. He criticized Tehran for delaying diplomacy and indicated he would engage with Iran, while acknowledging the ongoing military campaign and the deaths of several Iranian negotiators. The reporting notes Iran’s interim three-member leadership as a temporary caretaker body and references U.S. officials signaling openness to dialogue, amid continued military actions. The piece frames the situation as a high-stakes, escalating confrontation with a potential path to diplomacy, pending timing and developments.

Dive Deeper:

• Trump told The Atlantic he plans to talk with Iran’s new leadership and criticized Tehran for stalling weeks of diplomacy, suggesting negotiations should have started earlier.

• The Atlantic reported that three Iranian officials who participated in talks with the U.S. were killed in the strikes, and Trump said most of them are now gone.

• Iran’s leadership is described as a three-member council temporarily taking over the supreme leader’s duties, comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, the judiciary chief, and a Guardians Council representative, per Reuters.

• A senior White House official said Iran’s new potential leadership had signaled willingness to engage with Washington, though the military campaign continues unabated.

• Trump asserted that Iranians would topple the Islamic regime, citing celebrations in Iran and among expatriates in Los Angeles and New York, and urged Iranians to seize their destiny in a televised message.

• The operation, dubbed Epic Fury, prompted casualties on the U.S. side as three service members were killed and five wounded in the opening phase, according to U.S. Central Command.

• Trump characterized the action as decades overdue, stating that people had wanted to act for 47 years.