Trump says he needs to 'stop killing Iranian leaders' to find someone to negotiate with

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Cite

Yadav, K. (2026, October 25). Trump says he needs to 'stop killing Iranian leaders' to find someone to negotiate with. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-says-he-needs-to-stop-killing-iranian-leaders-to-find-someone-to-negotiate-with/articleshow/135193862.cms

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Times of India · collected 2026-10-25 · by Kanchan Yadav

Quick Summary

At a Georgia campaign rally, US President Donald Trump stated that halting the killing of Iranian leaders is necessary for finding negotiation partners with Tehran. He claimed that Iran's top officials and military capabilities have been significantly weakened by recent operations, although he did not specify these actions further beyond referring to them as "Operation Midnight Hammer" and "Operation Epic Fury." Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of causing a crisis through its war policies and stressed that Iran has no new position to offer in negotiations.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

US President Donald Trump stated at a campaign rally in Georgia on October 25, 2026, that he needs to "stop killing Iranian leaders" to find someone with whom the US can negotiate. He claimed that Iran has lost its top leadership and military capabilities, making it difficult for Washington to identify potential negotiation partners. Trump also defended his decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018, asserting that "Operation Midnight Hammer" and "Operation Epic Fury," US military operations in 2025 and between February and May 2026, had obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity. Trump reiterated his stance that Tehran must never develop nuclear weapons, emphasizing the US’s military superiority over Iran.

Written for “Trump Calls For Ceasefire With Iran” on 2026-10-25, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Calls For Ceasefire With Iran
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 16 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different statements made by Iran's Foreign Minister and US President Trump about diplomatic negotiations, occurring on different dates.”
Times of India
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 38% hedged 9 of 24 📰 publisher trust 59
“The articles describe different statements made by Trump on separate dates and locations.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 1 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different statements made by Trump and Netanyahu at separate times on related but distinct topics.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 24 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe related but different events: one about Iran's nuclear rebuild and potential US-Israeli military response, and another where Trump discusses stopping targeted killings of Iranian leaders to facilitate negotiations.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 5 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles discuss different moments in time and contexts related to Trump's approach towards Iran; Article A discusses a broader strategic decision period, while Article B covers a specific statement made at a campaign rally.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 7% hedged 1 of 15 📰 publisher trust 72
“The articles describe related statements made by Trump and Araghchi on the same day about potential war with Iran, but they do not report on a single identical incident or occurrence.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 50% hedged 1 of 2 📰 publisher trust 60
“While both articles discuss President Trump's stance on Iran and potential negotiations or military action, they describe different aspects and contexts of his statements.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 50% hedged 1 of 2 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different instances of Trump's comments on Iran, one mocking a reporter and another at a campaign rally in Georgia.”
Semafor
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 31 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles cover related topics but describe different events: one discusses sanctions and their impact on negotiations, while the other reports a statement made by Trump at a campaign rally about needing to stop 'killing Iranian leaders' to negotiate.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 26% hedged 5 of 19 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles discuss different speeches and statements made by Iranian and US presidents on separate days.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
5 of 31 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Times of India · 3323 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Kanchan Yadav
21 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “We obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” Trump said, referring to US military operations in 2025 and between February and May this year. “We defeated them militarily, financially, and otherwise.
🔮 It was the same spot where he announced on October 11 that he would undergo an operation to remove a small growth from his lung, marking the first major health scare of his papacy.
🔮 Four members of the man’s family, aged between four and 72, were treated and were expected to survive, the Associated Press reported.
🔮 US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, while acknowledging that he remains unsure whether the Norwegian Nobel Committee will select him for the 2026 award.
🔮 He then compared the alleged election results with the US electoral process, writing, “In Detroit, Philadelphia, California, and numerous other US Cities and States, the results, with much smaller numbers, will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate.
🔮 The group is part of around 5,000 Myanmar nationals who are expected to be repatriated from Malaysia in stages.
🔮 Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott condemned the shooting and said a dispute between two adults had resulted in the death of a child.
🔮 HAF said the incident could be a hate crime and urged authorities to prioritise identifying those responsible.
🔮 US Vice President JD Vance has called the H-1B visa programme “completely broken” and said he would support scrapping it, accusing companies of using the system to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.
🔮 However TOI could not independently verify them.
Also by Kanchan Yadav
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 21 articles by Kanchan Yadav →

Topics

Georgia Iran Iranian Tehran Washington

Subjects

Iran GPE · 13× Trump PERSON · 6× Iranian NORP · 5× Tehran GPE · 4× Ghalibaf PERSON · 3× Washington GPE · 3× Barack Obama PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Florida GPE · 1× Georgia GPE · 1×

Narrative

"The Americans assume that with a few levers of media pressure or military threats, they can make this great nation surrender to them, unaware that today's Iran is not the Iran of the humiliating Pahlavi era, but rather a strong fortress of self-confidence, defensive capability, and iron will that will never allow any foreign power to dictate terms to the honour of this land," he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 “We obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” Trump said, referring to US military operations in 2025 and between February and May this year. “We defeated them militarily, financially, and otherwise.

Claims (31 extracted, 5 hedged)

US President Donald Trump has said that he needs to "stop killing Iranian leaders" to figure out with whom Washington can negotiate with, while reiterating that Tehran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. asserted
Tehran → say → weapons
Speaking at a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump claimed that Iran had lost its top leaders and military capabilities, making it difficult for the US to find anyone with whom to negotiate. asserted
US → speak → whom
“I gotta stop” killing Iranian leaders, Trump told the rally, “because I gotta figure out who the hell we're negotiating with.” “They don't have any airplanes, no ships, no anything, no leaders. asserted
They → got → airplanes
Level one leader is gone, level two leader is gone,” he added, reiterating his claims about the destruction of Iran's military and leadership. uncertain
he → go → military
Trump also defended his 2018 decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated under former president Barack Obama. asserted
which → defend → Obama
“We obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” Trump said, referring to US military operations in 2025 and between February and May this year. “We defeated them militarily, financially, and otherwise. uncertain
We → obliterate → them
We have to make sure that they never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” he added. asserted
he → have → weapon
Trump had earlier indicated that the US could launch another attack on Iran, while also leaving open the possibility of reaching an agreement with Tehran. uncertain
US → indicate → Tehran
Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot in the midterm elections in Florida early on Saturday, Trump was asked whether the US would carry out a possible attack on Iran. asserted
US → speak → Iran
"Do you really think I'd tell you that? asserted
I → think → that
There's a possibility I will. asserted
I → be → ?
There's also a possibility we'll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement. asserted
we → be → agreement
They want to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?" he said. asserted
he → want → deal
The US president also praised the American military's role in the conflict and defended his administration's approach to West Asia. asserted
president → praise → Asia
"We have done an amazing job. asserted
We → do → job
Our Navy and military have done an amazing job. asserted
Navy → do → job
They have knocked out every jet fighter of Iran. asserted
They → knock → Iran
They are only left with record inflation," he added. asserted
he → leave → inflation
Later on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of pushing itself into a crisis through miscalculations and its decision to wage war against Iran. asserted
Ghalibaf → accuse → Iran
He said the responsibility for resolving the confrontation rested with the US. asserted
responsibility → say → US
According to remarks reported by Iranian news agency ISNA, Ghalibaf said Tehran had nothing new to add to its position. "As I have also stated previously, we have nothing new to say. uncertain
we → accord → nothing
It was America that, through miscalculations and waging war against Iran, stepped into a quagmire, and it is now they who must take the necessary measures to rescue themselves," he said during a parliamentary session in Tehran. asserted
he → wag → Tehran
Ghalibaf rejected the suggestion that military threats or media pressure would force Iran to surrender. asserted
threats → reject → Iran
"The Americans assume that with a few levers of media pressure or military threats, they can make this great nation surrender to them, unaware that today's Iran is not the Iran of the humiliating Pahlavi era, but rather a strong fortress of self-confidence, defensive capability, and iron will that will never allow any foreign power to dictate terms to the honour of this land," he said. asserted
he → assume → land
"We will not be intimidated, and we are prepared to deliver a response beyond their imagination to any violation of the territorial integrity of great Iran," Ghalibaf said. asserted
Ghalibaf → intimidate → Iran
"Therefore, threats of widespread war or assassination are not matters that will make the Iranian nation compromise on its rights and interests." asserted
nation → make → rights
He added that diplomatic statements from Washington would carry little weight without a change in policy and concrete steps to address past commitments. asserted
statements → add → commitments
"Until the Americans change their behaviour, abandon their bullying nature and greed, and make tangible, concrete, and real amends on the ground for their violated commitments, no claim will hold a shred of credibility for the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. uncertain
he → change → Iran
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran's policies would remain unchanged regardless of whether another war broke out. asserted
war → say → ?
He warned that any further military action against Iran would be irrational. asserted
action → warn → Iran
Araghchi also said the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its previous state following the 40-day war, arguing that the conflict had fundamentally changed the regional security landscape. asserted
conflict → say → landscape
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