Now Iran wants to talk, Trump says: Regime ‘is open to a peace deal’ but retaliation sees attacks across the region
Donald Trump said Iran was ready to start talks for a peace agreement after the country’s religious leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
As conflict intensifies in the Middle East, the US President confirmed contact was made by the country’s interim leaders and told The Atlantic magazine: ‘I will talk to them.’
His comments offered hope for peace after a dramatic day of bombardments across the region, with hundreds of British soldiers on the defensive and thousands of Britons trapped.
President Trump said: ‘They should have done this sooner. They should have given something very practical and easy as soon as possible.
‘[Operation Epic Fury] It’s ahead of schedule and progressing very well.’
Although it may seem like a veiled ploy towards reluctant allies, he added: ‘We’re doing our job. ‘Not just for us, but for the rest of the world.’
Following the death of dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, Iranian missiles and drones rained down on Sunday, threatening Western interests.
Iran has also threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz; This was a move calculated to push global oil prices even higher when markets reopened this morning.
Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that the US military’s strike in Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury, was “ahead of plan and progressing very well.”
The US President said Iran is ready to begin negotiations for a peace agreement after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on Saturday.
Israeli emergency response teams work at the scene of an Iranian missile attack in Jerusalem on March 1, 2026; a large crater is clearly visible on the road
The International Maritime Organization reported losses in commercial ships targeted in the Gulf.
Three US soldiers were killed in an Iranian rocket attack and many more were injured at bases in northern Iraq and throughout the region.
An RAF Typhoon intercepted a drone over Qatar and hundreds of personnel carried out defensive actions in Bahrain, Cyprus and other countries. Despite Iran’s attacks on military bases in the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not allow British troops to take part in offensive actions.
Last night former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace accused Sir Keir of ‘thinking more like a lawyer than a politician’.
But the current Defense Secretary insisted the UK was ‘stepping up’. John Healey said: ‘We are taking down drones that threaten our bases, our people and our allies. ‘This is a really serious and getting worse situation.’
Mr Healey confirmed British troops were ‘within a few hundred metres’ of where the Iranian missiles landed. However, he said there were no British casualties.
The Prime Minister added that two ballistic missiles were fired ‘in the direction of Cyprus’, where thousands of British soldiers are permanently stationed, and towards a base in Northern Iraq.
Israel called in 100,000 additional troops, although there was little sign of an end to hostilities. There were reports last night that these soldiers could be used in attacks in the Occupied Territories, leading to fears of wider conflict.
It is understood that 48 senior Iranian officials have been killed since the US-Israeli attacks began on Saturday morning.
And on Sunday night, the US military announced that it had destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The United States and Israel also launched a major cyber attack by shutting down the Iranian government’s websites. According to the Iranian Red Crescent, the death toll in the country exceeded 200 as a result of missiles hitting a girls’ school yesterday.
Iran’s government has said the country has entered a ‘transitional phase’ under the leadership of President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
The military launched offensives across the region yesterday, targeting US Fifth Fleet warships and other American military assets near Bahrain. 9 people lost their lives in the missile attack on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh.
Many buildings have collapsed and residents are feared to be trapped under the rubble. A department block in Tel Aviv was also destroyed as Iranian missiles targeted the country. Iran’s missile and drone attacks recorded
in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, including strikes at Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s largest aviation hubs.
Kuwait Ministry of Defense announced that 97 ballistic missiles and 283 unmanned aerial vehicles were seized. In Kuwait, 1 person died and 32 people were injured.
A rocket caused minor damage at Kuwait International Airport, while the Shahed drone crashed into the country’s Ali Al Salem air base.
Satellite images have revealed huge clouds of black smoke rising from Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, where Iran struck a US Navy warehouse. It is known that 3 people died and 58 people were injured in the attacks against the UAE.
A French naval base was hit in Abu Dhabi, but claims that Iran threatened the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln turned out to be false.
