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A rchive Date
[ 05-03-2026 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
      [https://www.salon.com/2026/03/03/people-we-had-in-mind-are-dead-trump-admits-us-preferred-successors-to-ayatollah-were-killed/

      “People we had in mind are dead”: Trump admits US preferred successors to ayatollah were killed
      The president admitted that his administration's first choices to lead Iran had been killed in airstrikes
      By Alex Galbraith Nights and Weekends Editor
      Published March 3, 2026 2:24PM (EST)

      Donald Trump‘s plans for regime change in Iran have gone pear-shaped.

      The president told reporters on Tuesday that his administration’s preferred successors to the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in recent airstrikes on Iran. In a press conference at the White House, Trump openly worried that the attack on Iran would be for naught.

      “The worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We don’t want that to happen,” he said. “You go through this and in five years you realize you put somebody in who is no better.”

      When asked who he would pick to lead the country, Trump admitted that his administration’s top candidates in the Iranian government had been killed.

      “Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he said. Now, we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports. So I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty sure we’re not going to know anybody.”

      Despite the echoes of previous destabilizing attacks in the Middle East by Republican administrations, Trump’s Cabinet has waved away any comparison between Operation Epic Fury and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this week that the U.S. has no plans for a prolonged conflict with Iran.

      “This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better, and so does this president,” Hegseth said.
      Trump said he expects the operation to last three to four weeks.

      Alex Galbraith is Salon's nights and weekends editor, and author of our free daily newsletter, Crash Course. He is based in New Orleans.

      Copyright © 2026 Salon.com, LLC. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited


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