Trump touts 3 options for Iranian leadership, hints at Venezuela model

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump on March 1 said that there are three potential people who could take over Iranian leadership “post-regime era” after the joint U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

In a phone interview with the New York Times, Trump said that he believes three individuals could potentially assume Iran’s leadership, but he declined to reveal their identities at this stage.

He avoided answering when asked specifically about Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani, who has suggested a transitional council might govern until Iran’s next supreme leader is chosen.

Asked how long the United States and Israel could sustain attacks against Iran at the current level, Trump said, "I was thinking four to five weeks," adding that it "would not be difficult" to continue such attacks.

As the reporter kept asking about a plan to achieve a transfer of power in Iran, he said he hoped Iran's elite soldiers would hand over their weapons to the Iranian people, adding, "They will surrender to the people."

Referring to a scenario in which the Iranian people overthrow the current government, Trump said, "They have been talking for many years, and now they have an opportunity."

He even referenced an approach similar to what happened in Venezuela, where after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, most of the rest of the government remained in place under new political leadership, implying he is considering a transitional model that avoids total dismantling of state institutions.

Meanwhile, Larijani denied U.S. media reports that he was seeking to restart negotiations with Washington and said on social media that Iran will not negotiate with the United States.

In a separate video address, Trump vowed to respond to the deaths of three U.S. service members in the conflict and warned that further American casualties are likely as the military campaign continues.

An Israeli official has also said that Israel’s current military focus is on undermining Iran’s regime to the point of its collapse. Israel uses a variety of means, including information operations like hacking state media and broadcasting messages in Persian, to encourage public protests against the Iranian leadership.