WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he has agreed to enter talks with Iran’s new leadership as the Middle East remained on high alert after joint US Israeli strikes on Iran.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Trump said Iran’s new leaders “want to talk” and that he would hold discussions with them, though he did not specify when they would begin.
“They should have done it sooner. They waited too long,” Trump said from his Florida residence, the magazine reported.
Iran open to ‘serious efforts at de-escalation’
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Oman said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, that Tehran is open to any “serious efforts at de-escalation” following attacks by Israel and the United States.
The statement emphasised the importance of addressing the crisis’s causes, halting military operations and returning to diplomacy.
Oman, which has served as a mediator in past nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran, has played a central role in seeking diplomatic ways to avert broader conflict.
تبادل معالي السيد بدر بن حمد البوسعيدي @badralbusaidi وزير الخارجية اتصالات مكثفة مع عدد من نظرائه في الدول الشقيقة والصديقة، تناولت تطورات الأوضاع الإقليمية المتسارعة، في ضوء الحرب الإسرائيلية الأمريكية على الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية، وما ترتّب عليها من انعكاسات وتداعيات… pic.twitter.com/OoL3fTOCAf
— وزارة الخارجية (@FMofOman) March 1, 2026
US-Israel strikes on Iran
The latest diplomatic signals come amid one of the gravest escalations in the decades-long rivalry between Iran and the United States and Israel.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s armed forces chief, and several senior military commanders were killed in US–Israeli strikes, Iranian state media confirmed on Sunday.
State television announced that Khamenei, 86, was killed at his Tehran compound, while the judiciary’s Mizan news portal reported that Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour, senior security official Ali Shamkhani, and Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh were also killed during a Defence Council meeting targeted in Saturday’s attacks.
🎥 لحظهٔ اعلام شهادت رهبر معظم انقلاب در تلویزیون https://t.co/Jmu6dbo79j pic.twitter.com/5qNJPDDrNb
— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) March 1, 2026
The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that members of Khamenei’s family — including his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter — were killed in the strikes, with additional casualties reported in separate attacks.
The announcement came as US President Donald Trump vowed that American military operations would continue with heavy bombing throughout the week, raising fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.
In response, Iran reportedly launched ballistic missiles and drones across the region, striking US facilities in the region.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it launched fresh strikes on Tehran, after coordinated US–Israeli attacks targeted senior Iranian leadership and military infrastructure.
The conflict has disrupted air travel, global markets and raised fears of a much wider regional war.
Indonesia offers to mediate
On Saturday, Indonesia offered to mediate between the United States and Iran after earlier negotiations collapsed.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said President Prabowo Subianto is ready to travel to Tehran to facilitate dialogue if both sides agree.
The ministry warned that increasing tensions could destabilise the region and disrupt world peace and security.
It called for “maximum restraint” and stressed that differences should be resolved through diplomacy, respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday. The strikes followed a significant US military build-up in the region.
Oil markets surge
Financial markets reacted sharply to the conflict. Brent crude oil jumped around 10 percent to roughly $80 a barrel.
Analysts said that the prices could climb as high as $100 if tensions persist and the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz — through which a large share of global oil exports flows — remains unsafe for shipping.
Traders said the closure or disruption of traffic through the strait would sustain a surge in oil prices.
Iran navy ships ‘destroyed and sunk’
Earlier, Trump said the US military strikes had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels and partially destroyed Iran’s navy headquarters.
“I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“We are going after the rest — they will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also! In a different attack, we largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters. Other than that, their Navy is doing very well!”Trump says 9 Iran navy ships ‘destroyed and sunk’
“We are going after the rest — they will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also! In a different attack, we largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters. Other than that, their Navy is doing very well!”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to escalate strikes further, saying his forces are targeting Tehran “with intense power” and that the campaign will continue.
