Donald Trump: Perhaps we went too far in targeting the Islamic Republic's leaders

US President Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in Ohio that the US may have "gone too far" in targeting the Islamic Republic's leaders during the war. He said the reason for this assessment is that Washington no longer knows who it is dealing with in Tehran.

Trump went on to say he thinks too much was done in this regard, and claimed that nobody wants to become president of Iran; a claim at odds with the facts, since Masoud Pezeshkian has held that post since July 2024. He also repeated that the Islamic Republic has lost its air force and all 159 of its ships; a claim that has not been independently confirmed.

Trump's remarks and the deadlock in talks with the Islamic Republic

The remarks come as talks between the US and the Islamic Republic on maritime security and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have reached a deadlock, with the two sides disagreeing over how to handle the security and nuclear files. Trump's remark about having no counterpart to negotiate with points to a dispersal of power within the Islamic Republic's structure after a number of its commanders and senior officials were killed in the war.

At the same time, attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf continue, and Islamic Republic officials have spoken in non-public messages of the possibility of sending forces to neighbouring countries if US attacks resume. Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said the Islamic Republic's oil exports have fallen to zero and that the government is collapsing.

The US president says that after the Islamic Republic's leaders were targeted, Washington no longer knows who it is dealing with in Tehran.