Trump says US may have "gone too far" killing Iran's leaders, as it is unclear who to negotiate with

Mixed · 2US President Donald Trump said on Monday 13 October that Washington may have gone "too far" in targeting Iran's leadership, because the killing of senior Iranian officials had made it harder to identify who the US could negotiate with. 1 2 Mixed · 2Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he said: "We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore." 1 2 Centre · 1According to the Hindustan Times, Trump added that the US "could have stopped at level one" and that "level two and level two and a half was probably going too far". 2

Right · 1Trump also claimed that "nobody wants to be the president of Iran", saying potential candidates were unwilling to take the position. 1 Mixed · 2Despite the admission, Trump kept a hard line, calling Iran "the number one state sponsor of terror" and saying it would not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. 1 2 Mixed · 2Trump repeated that US operations had destroyed Iran's air force and navy, saying Iran had lost all 159 of its naval vessels, "resting beautifully in the bottom of the sea". The Hindustan Times noted that the White House has not released updated military assessments supporting that specific figure. 1 2

Mixed · 2Both outlets say the comments echoed Vice President JD Vance, who told Reuters the US remained uncertain how decisions were made within Iran's leadership and that any deal would require Tehran to make meaningful cuts to its nuclear enrichment capacity. 1 2 Centre · 1The Hindustan Times places the remarks in the context of months of fighting, with Washington pursuing both military pressure and diplomacy, and says negotiations remain uncertain. 2