US President Donald Trump said he has a shortlist of “three very good choices” to lead Iran after the war he launched to topple Tehran’s ruling clerics, but he did not reveal their names
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had identified three candidates he believed could lead Iran after launching a war aimed at removing Tehran’s ruling clerics. He told the New York Times he had “three very good choices”, without disclosing their names. “I won’t be revealing them now. Let’s get the job done first,” he said.
In a video address on Sunday,
Trump urged Iranians to rise up against the Islamic republic a day after a joint US-Israeli attack killed the country’s supreme leader. “I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country. America is with you,” he said.
The appeal was repeated as he again addressed Iranians directly, framing the moment as an opportunity for an uprising.
Regime change openly declared as objective
In announcing the US
military strike on Iran, Trump expanded his justification beyond the stated aim of eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat. He called for regime change and encouraged Iranians to overthrow their government.
Three sources briefed on the attack told ABC News that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were among the targets of the strikes.
‘Defence of American security’
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a video posted early Saturday morning. Addressing “the great, proud people of Iran”, he added, “I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.”
He told Iranians that once the conflict ends, they should “take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
“For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight,” he said. “Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond.”
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