In a 45-minute interview with Axios and a forthcoming book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, US President Donald Trump has asserted that his power as commander-in-chief knows ‘no limits’ and that he surpasses historical figures such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan. Trump told Axios that the recent conflict with Iran had not taught him any lesson about constraints on his authority, stating, ‘There are no limits. I haven’t learned that lesson yet.’ The book, ‘Regime Change’, reveals that Trump has been presenting visitors with a document arguing that modern technology—aircraft and global mobility—gives him a reach that Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar lacked, and that his willingness to use power makes him ‘by far the most powerful person ever to walk this planet.’

The interview and book emerge as Trump defends the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Iran, which fell far short of his initial demand for unconditional surrender. The 14-point agreement requires Iran to permit free passage through the Strait of Hormuz and the US to lift its naval blockade, while granting Tehran access to at least $300 billion in financing and contingent sanctions relief. Trump insisted to Axios that the outcome ‘probably is unconditional surrender’ and that the US had ‘defeated them totally militarily.’ He acknowledged, however, that the sole force restraining him was the economy, warning that prolonging the war to satisfy hawkish Republicans could have triggered a global depression. He cited falling oil prices and rising stock markets as vindication, adding that his ‘one main wish’ was not to be remembered like Herbert Hoover, the president linked to the Great Depression.

Viewed from Tehran, the agreement was received with ambivalence. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly held a negative view of the deal but granted permission for President Masoud Pezeshkian to sign it, according to officials familiar with the matter. In Washington, Republican critics have condemned the MOU as a strategic failure. Senator Bill Cassidy described the terms as ‘horrible’ and predicted it would be remembered as ‘an enormous foreign policy mistake,’ arguing that Iran had emerged strengthened. Trump dismissed such critics as ‘hawks’ for whom he no longer holds respect, and separately claimed that without him, ‘Israel would not exist today,’ adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be kept ‘a little bit sane.’

The conflict began on 28 February with a US naval blockade—part of Operation Epic Fury—and Trump’s stated goal of regime change in Iran. The MOU initiates a 60-day ceasefire and negotiation period toward a permanent agreement. European analysts note that the gap between Trump’s initial demands and the negotiated text has raised questions about the durability of the framework, particularly as Iran’s self-declared Persian Gulf Strait Authority has already announced conditions for passage through Hormuz. The book ‘Regime Change’ is scheduled for release next week, while the US-Iran negotiations are expected to resume under the MOU’s terms, with mediators working to address Iranian demands for guarantees on Israeli hostilities in Lebanon.