Trump: I Have Three Very Good Candidates To Lead Iran
- 2.03.2026, 8:14
The U.S. President intrigued by the statement.
US President Donald Trump said that he has three candidates to be the new head of Iran. He also added that Washington plans to continue its operation against Tehran for now.
This is reported by The New York Times.
"I have three very good candidates. I'm not going to reveal them now. Let's get the job done first," Trump said.
It should be noted that earlier on Sunday, Iran's top national security official, Ali Larijani, said an interim committee would run the country. This will be the case until a successor to the supreme leader is chosen.
It is also known that Larijani led the abruptly aborted nuclear deal negotiations with the United States, and in January this year the Trump administration imposed sanctions against him for his role in suppressing anti-government protests.
Returning to the interview, Trump did not respond to a question about whether he thought Larijani could lead Iran's government.
When asked about plans for a transfer of power, he said the local military, including the IRGC, could hand over its weapons to the people.
"If you think about it, they would actually surrender to the people," the U.S. leader said.
He then offered a very different model of what a transition of power in Iran might look like, citing his recent experience in Venezuela (referring to the capture and overthrow of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro).
"I think what we did in Venezuela is the perfect, perfect scenario," he emphasized.
His response implied that what worked in Venezuela would work in Iran. But Trump's advisers told him that vast differences in cults and history make it virtually impossible to apply the strategy used in Venezuela, where the incumbent government remained in power after agreeing to follow U.S. instructions.
At the same time, Trump said he was ready to lift sanctions against Iran if the new leadership showed itself to be a pragmatic partner.
At the same time, the president declined to say how or whether his administration would ever protect the people of Iran, whom he himself is calling on to overthrow the ruler It's too soon," the White House chief said.
The question of the length of the U.S. operation against Iran was also raised separately. Trump was asked how long the United States and Israel could continue attacks of this level, to which he replied that it was about one month.
"We were planning four to five weeks. It's not going to be difficult. We have a tremendous amount of ammunition. You know, we have munitions that are stored all over the world, in different countries," Trump concluded.