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Trump to Iranian diplomats: 'Help us shape a new and better Iran'

Published: 06 Mar. 2026, 14:46

Passengers in Iran wait to board a flight to Istanbul at Van Airport in eastern Turkey on March 6. [YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump called on overseas Iranian diplomats to request asylum and help shape a "new and better" Iran as the United States and Israel continue a military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Trump made the remarks during a White House event celebrating Inter Miami's 2025 Major League Soccer Championship, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed that it is a "really bad miscalculation" for the Iranian military to hope that the United States cannot sustain the ongoing war.

"We also urge Iranian diplomats around the world to request asylum and to help us shape a new and better Iran with great potential," Trump said.

"It's a country with great potential [...] much better future for Iran. It's now beginning. It's going to be, I think, a great future," he added.

He went on to say that the United States will ensure that "whoever leads the country next, Iran will not threaten America or its neighbors — Israel [or] anybody."

His remarks came after he said in interviews with Axios and Reuters that he should have a role in selecting Iran's next leader, calling Mojtaba Khamenei — a son of the deceased former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — "unacceptable."

An Iranian mother and daughter who fled Iran arrives in Turkey on March 5. [YONHAP]

In a separate press conference, alongside U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper, Hegseth dismissed lingering concerns about U.S. munitions stockpiles as the U.S. military operation against Iran, codenamed "Operation Epic Fury," entered its sixth day.

"Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC in Iran," the Pentagon chief said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He underscored that there is "no shortage of American will" and no shortage of munitions.

"Our commitment to our mission objectives only increases as our advantages continue to increase," he said.

"We've got no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to," he added.

A staff member from the Korean Embassy in Iran arrives at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on March 5. [YONHAP]

Cooper said that in the last 72 hours, the United States' bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran, and that in just the last hour, U.S. B-2 bombers brought dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers.

"Notably, we have also struck Iran's equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans," he said.

He added that the United States has struck over 30 Iranian ships, including an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.

During the military conflict, the United States reported six fatalities, while the Iranian Red Crescent has said that Iran's death toll has risen to over 780.

Yonhap