# Donald Trump — "They're not radicalized" > [!quote] "We're dealing with people that I think are very rational people. And they were nice to deal with." > "They were strong people, smart people. They're not radicalized, and they're, you know, looking to help their country." > > — Donald Trump, G7 summit, France, June 16, 2026 ## Context At the G7 in France, Trump characterized the post-war Iranian leadership under new Supreme Leader [[Mojtaba Khamenei]] — and the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] — as "rational," "nice," and "not radicalized." He said this about a regime whose forces had continued firing on U.S. positions throughout the supposed ceasefire, and whose new leader took power after his own father, wife, and son were killed in U.S. strikes during the [[Iran War 2026]]. ## Why This Matters The praise inverts years of Trump-world rhetoric framing Iran's clerical leadership as fanatical and the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Describing a leadership decapitated by U.S. strikes as "not radicalized" and "looking to help their country" reads as either profound misreading of the adversary or rhetorical cover for a deal that left that adversary intact — the central thesis of the Atlantic piece documenting the war Trump did not understand he lost. ## See Also - [[Donald Trump]] - [[Iran War 2026]] - [[Mojtaba Khamenei]] - [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] - [[Trump Iran War Quotes]]