President Donald Trump said he is willing to support groups inside Iran that would take up arms against the country's weakened government and drive it out.
The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday in the opening phase of a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation, has fueled speculation about regime change and open elections.
Trump on Sunday spoke with Kurdish leaders and is continuing to engage other local officials who could seek to exploit Tehran's instability, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
The Kurds maintain a sizable force along the Iraq-Iran border. Israel has bombed positions in western Iran, prompting speculation that it might be clearing a path for a Kurdish advance, according to the Journal.
"President Trump has spoken with many regional partners," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the Journal, without explicitly confirming Trump's objectives.
Officials told the Journal that Trump has not made a final decision on whether to provide arms, training or intelligence support to anti-regime groups to accomplish a regime change goal.
Three days after the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Khamenei, U.S. officials remain uncertain who will emerge in charge in Tehran and have not identified a viable successor with whom to engage, the Journal reported.
The strikes killed dozens of senior Iranian officials, including longtime adviser Ali Shamkhani, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cmdr. Mohammad Pakpour, and Mohammad Shirazi, who headed Khamenei's military office.
In recent days, senior Trump administration officials have described the operation's objective as eliminating threats from Iran, including its nuclear and missile programs, its navy, and its support for regional terrorist groups.
They have spoken far less about regime change, according to the Journal.
Trump on Saturday urged Iranians to rise up and "take over your government," adding, "America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force."
During an impromptu news conference Tuesday in the Oval Office while meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump suggested that "somebody from within" would be the best option to lead Iran.
"Most of the people we had in mind are dead," Trump said in remarks that aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform. "So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is dead.
"And now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So, I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty soon, we're not going to know anybody."
Trump was asked whether exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah, could be a possible leader.
"I guess he is," he said. "Some people like him, and we haven't been thinking about too much about that.
"It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate. I've said that he looks like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that somebody that's there that's currently popular, if there's such a person.
"But we have people like that. We have people that were more moderate; you know, these were radical lunatics. And you know what they get? They get nothing. All they do is kill people."
Trump has also raised the idea of implementing what he called the "Venezuela model." Since the January ouster of dictator Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration has worked through Maduro's former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, a regime loyalist, while keeping much of the country's security and governing apparatus intact.
"Venezuela was so incredible because we did the attack and we kept government totally intact," Trump said. "And we have Delcy, who has been very good.
"We have the whole chain of command, and the relationship has been great."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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