‘Too Late’: Trump Rebuffs Tehran Regime’s Request for Talks

Latest Developments

Trump Rejects Islamic Republic Request for Talks: President Donald Trump said of Iran on March 3, “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said, ‘Too Late!’” In a separate interview with Politico the same day, Trump asserted that Iran is “running out of launchers” for its ballistic missiles. “They’re running out and they’re running out of areas to shoot them,” he stated. “Because they’re being decimated.”
IDF Strikes Targets Across Iran: The Israeli military said on March 3 that it had attacked “sites used by the regime to produce weapons, with an emphasis on ballistic missile production sites” in Tehran. The IDF also reportedly struck “the building that hosts the body of religious experts whose primary role is to select Iran’s new supreme leader.”
Clashes With Hezbollah Intensify: The IDF also announced “extensive strikes on infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization” in Lebanon since Hezbollah “chose to join the campaign [against Israel] and act on behalf of Iran.” The IDF said one of its strikes eliminated Daoud Ali Zada, deputy commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), “the highest-ranking Iranian commander responsible for Iranian operations in Lebanon.”

FDD Expert Response

“For decades, the Islamic Republic has operated on the assumption that it can return to negotiations with the United States whenever it chooses — confident that Washington and Europe would ultimately prefer diplomacy over decisive force. That calculation has helped the regime survive repeated crises. Even after catastrophic losses at the top, Tehran’s leadership believes it can negotiate its way out of isolation, preserve its hold on power, and continue advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions and its terrorist activities. President Trump is correct to say it is ‘too late.’ The regime has repeatedly squandered diplomatic opportunities and demonstrated that it cannot be trusted — even in moments of apparent retreat. Any durable U.S.-Iran understanding must rest not on tactical concessions from the current regime but rather on fundamentally different and credible leadership in Tehran.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO

“In a sense, it is both too late and too early. The time has certainly passed for any kind of negotiation that leaves the remnants of the Islamic Republic in charge. At the same time, as the destruction of the Assembly of Experts shows, the tempo and ambition of military operations remain high. The last Iranian defense minister was killed the day after being appointed. The United States and Israel must empower the same Iranians who took to the streets in January, rallying around the banner of Reza Pahlavi, and negotiate only with those who understand that the era of the Islamic Republic is over.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow

“Israeli actions in Lebanon follow Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s banning of Hezbollah military and security activity in the country. These developments will weaken Hezbollah and allow for military and security decisions to be consolidated by the Lebanese Armed Forces while meeting the security goals of Israel.” — Tyler Stapleton, Senior Director of Government Relations, FDD Action