Trump calls Iran's current leaders 'very reasonable' as Pakistan prepares to host talks
US President Donald Trump talking to audience in Memphis on March 23, 2026 at the event on DHS funding event. PHOTO: SCREEN GRAB
US President Donald Trump said the US and Iran have been meeting "directly and indirectly" and that Iran's new leaders have been "very reasonable", as more US troops arrived in the region and Tehran warned it will not accept humiliation.
Trump's remarks on Sunday came after Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long Iran war.
"I think we'll make a deal with them, I'm pretty sure, but it's possible we won't," Trump told reporters on Sunday evening as he travelled aboard Air Force One to Washington.
.@POTUS: "We're ahead of schedule with Iran. We're weeks ahead of schedule... and we have a group, it's really a new regime. It's a new group of people — people that we've never dealt with before, that are acting very reasonable." pic.twitter.com/fcTLiAKnNx
Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished regime change in Tehran after strikes killed the country's supreme leader and other top officials, but said twice that their replacements seemed "reasonable."
An initial Israeli strike on February 28 killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son Mojtaba.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said talks between regional foreign ministers on Sunday covered ways to bring an early end to the war, and potential US-Iran talks in Islamabad.
"Pakistan will be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days, for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict," he said. It was not clear whether the US and Iran had agreed to attend.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, earlier accused the US of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time planning a ground invasion. Tehran was ready to respond if US soldiers were deployed, he said.
"As long as the Americans seek Iran's surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation," he said in a message to the nation.
Read: Pakistan signals Iran-US talks in 'coming days'
The Israeli military said its air defences were responding to "missiles launched from Iran" on Monday, as US President Donald Trump talks of seizing the export hub of Kharg Island.
"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the military statement said, adding that "Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," and urging people to take shelter until further notice.
It said two drones from Yemen were intercepted early Monday but gave no further details. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia entered the war on Saturday, firing missiles at Israel, escalating a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.
Israel's military also said the Air Force was carrying out strikes on Tehran on Monday, targeting what it described as military infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump said he wants to "take the oil in Iran" and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday, as about 2,500 US Marines arrived in the region.
Kharg Island, located off the west coast of Iran, is a vital oil terminal for the Middle Eastern country and is being eyed by the Pentagon for ground operations, though the United States insisted it would stop short of a full-scale invasion.
When asked about the state of Iranian defence on the island, Trump said, "I don't think they have any defence. We could take it very easily."
The island handles 90% of Iran's oil exports, and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran's energy trade, placing enormous pressure on Tehran's economy.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies and hitting the global economy.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said talks between regional foreign ministers on Sunday covered ways to bring an early end to the war, and potential US-Iran talks in Islamabad.
"Pakistan will be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days, for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict," he said. It was not clear whether the US and Iran had agreed to attend.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, earlier accused the US of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time planning a ground invasion. Tehran was ready to respond if US soldiers were deployed, he said.
"As long as the Americans seek Iran's surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation," he said in a message to the nation.
The US Department of Defence has dispatched thousands of troops to the Middle East, giving Trump the option of launching a ground offensive.
An Israeli official said there was no intention to scale back attacks against Iran ahead of any possible talks between Washington and Tehran, and that Israel would continue carrying out strikes against what it described as military targets.
Israel's military said it had launched over 140 air strikes on central and western Iran, including Tehran, over the 24 hours to Sunday evening, hitting ballistic missile launch sites and storage facilities, among other targets.
Iranian state media reported strikes had hit Mehrabad airport and a petrochemical plant in the northern city of Tabriz.
A chemical plant in southern Israel near the city of Beersheba was hit by a missile or missile debris as Israel fended off multiple salvos from Iran, prompting official warnings to the public to stay away due to "hazardous materials".
Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of global oil and gas shipments, has spiked oil prices and spread economic pain around the world.
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Stocks slumped in Asia on Monday as investors dug in for a protracted Gulf conflict that already has oil prices heading for a record monthly rise, bringing a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe. Japan's Nikkei index was down 4.7%.
Meanwhile, oil prices looked poised to extend their gains, with Brent headed for a record monthly rise. Brent crude futures jumped $3.09, or 2.74%, to $115.66 a barrel by 2353 GMT after settling 4.2% higher on Friday.
Several hundred special operations personnel have arrived in the region, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing two military officials. That comes on top of thousands of US Marines that came on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the first of two contingents, the US military has said.
Reuters has reported that the Pentagon has been considering military options that could include ground forces, although Trump has not approved any of those plans, according to multiple news outlets.
The majority of Americans are opposed to the war and a military escalation, which would risk a protracted crisis, would likely weigh further on Trump's already low approval ratings ahead of the November midterm elections for Congress.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching their first attacks on Israel and raising the prospect they could target and thus block a second key shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Israeli authorities said on Sunday that they had intercepted two drones launched from Yemen.