US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell, Montana.
Trump claims Iranian negotiators ask US officials to spare their lives during talks
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
US President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that Iranian officials’ primary request in negotiations with the United States is simply to be allowed to survive, declaring that Tehran’s forces have been severely degraded after nearly eight months of conflict.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Kalispell, Montana, Trump told supporters that Iranian negotiators focus on survival rather than other demands.
“They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone,” Trump said, describing the state of Iran’s military.
He added that he “should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with.”
Trump claimed that Iran’s top tiers of leadership had been eliminated, leaving only lower-level figures.
“Now their main thing that they ask in negotiation is, ‘Will you please allow us to live?’” Trump continued.
“They don’t want us to go after them.”
He further claimed the war “is going to end very quickly. One way or the other, it’s going to end very quickly,” predicting that oil prices would then “drop like a rock.”
The remarks came as Trump campaigned for Republican candidates ahead of the November midterm elections, including Aaron Flint in Montana’s western congressional district.
The Iran war, which began in late February, has strained global energy markets and contributed to higher fuel costs in the United States, creating political challenges for the Republican Party.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled in recent weeks.
Talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in late September produced no breakthrough, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio later ordered the Iranian delegation to leave the United States after it “overstayed” its welcome.
Vice President JD Vance has insisted that Iran must take concrete steps to reduce its uranium enrichment capacity, stating the US requires “actions for actions.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently acknowledged uncertainty about the war’s conclusion, telling Fox News, “I don’t know how this ends. You never know how this ends.”
Trump has repeatedly predicted a swift resolution while maintaining that Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon.”
