President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. military action against Iran has dramatically reshaped the country’s leadership landscape, leaving uncertainty about who could ultimately succeed the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to Fox News, while speaking to reporters, Trump claimed that many figures once viewed as potential successors have been eliminated.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said. “So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is, 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 acknowledged the possibility that a new leader could emerge who is no different from the last.
“That could happen,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worse you go through this, and then, in five years, you realize you put somebody in who was no better. We’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people, and we’ll see what happens with the people. You know, they have their chance.”
His remarks came as Israeli strikes targeted a building in Qom associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the 88-member body responsible for selecting a new supreme leader. Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin confirmed the strike.
“We struck a few targets involved in terrorism,” Defrin said.
Iranian media reported the building was empty at the time. Israel has not released a battle damage assessment.
The White House has said 49 top Iranian leaders were killed in the opening phase of the campaign, which Trump described as “ahead of schedule.” Defense officials, however, stressed the operation was not aimed at toppling the regime.
“This is not a so-called regime change war,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “But the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it today.”
Under Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader when the position becomes vacant. In the interim, a three-person council — including President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and senior cleric Alireza Arafi — assumes leadership duties.
Reports have suggested potential successors previously included Ali Asghar Hejazi and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini. Israeli officials have claimed Hejazi was killed, though Iranian authorities have not confirmed it.
Trump’s assertion that multiple tiers of leadership have been eliminated has intensified questions about how Iran’s clerical establishment will navigate the transition.
No comprehensive public list of succession-level casualties has been released.
