Donald Trump, the president of the United States, said at a Republican Party campaign rally in Arizona on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, that the Islamic Republic had asked him to stop killing its leaders and that he had agreed. In a sarcastic tone, Trump added that so many of the Islamic Republic's leaders have been eliminated in the war that it is unclear who is left to negotiate with.
According to Trump, the United States first removed the top tier of the Islamic Republic's leadership, then a second tier rose to power and that tier too was eliminated; he said about half of them are gone. The US president said he had perhaps gone a little too far, because now he does not know who he is talking to. He had made a similar remark earlier at a campaign rally in Ohio, which DIAR reported.
Trump: the Islamic Republic would attack with a nuclear weapon within 24 hours
In the same speech, Trump called the Islamic Republic the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism and said that if this government obtained a nuclear weapon, it would use it within 24 hours: first in the Middle East, then against the US West Coast, and then Europe. He said this situation will end soon, but did not announce when the United States would decide. The day before, at a campaign rally in Alaska, Trump had said the Islamic Republic will never get a nuclear weapon and that America's patience has run out.
The US president also claimed that details of the flight timing of the B-2 bombers for the June 2025 attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities had leaked before the operation, and that for this reason he postponed the attack by two days; he said those who leaked it must be severely punished. Reports published at the time, including Reuters' report on decoy bombers flying westward, do not confirm the claim that the timing of the attack was exposed.
Background: the war and the decision ahead
Trump's remarks come as the war between the United States and the Islamic Republic has entered a new phase and attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz continue. In recent days Trump has repeatedly said that America's decision on the Islamic Republic will be made soon and that military options are on the table.
Trump said so many of the Islamic Republic's leaders have been eliminated that it is no longer clear who America's negotiating counterpart is.
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