Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender,’ role in picking Iran’s next leader
WASHINGTON— President Trump said Friday that the United States will not accept anything other than Iran:unconditional surrenderIt indicates that as the expanding war in the Middle East enters its seventh day, the possibility of regime change may emerge as a target.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said negotiations with Iran were off the table and that once they capitulated, he wanted to have a say in who would be Iran’s next leader.
“After this, and the election of a GREAT AND ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it bigger, better, and stronger economically than ever before,” Trump wrote.
The comments mark one of the clearest indications that Trump is considering regime change in Iran, even though administration officials have said it is not a goal of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace his father. But Trump said his would be an “unacceptable” choice, and in an interview with Politico, the president said he expects his administration to “work with them to help them make the right choice.”
The comments come as war continues to escalate across the region, with Israeli forces launching attacks on targets in Tehran and Beirut and Iranian forces launching missile and drone strikes on Israel and Gulf states. The Israeli military also said it struck an area in Tehran that it said was attacked by Iran. He secretly moved some nuclear activities to underground bunkers.
As the fighting intensified, the White House paired its policy statement on the war with an unconventional online messaging campaign featuring Hollywood movies and video games to support Trump’s war effort.
One 31 second video Posted on the official White House account on
Another video montage to market the administration’s efforts in Iran used clips from the “Grand Theft Auto” video game, with one character saying: “Ah, here we go again.”
The tone of the social media campaign highlights the administration’s effort to frame the conflict in dramatic and patriotic terms as questions about the conflict’s potential human toll grow.
In an interview with Time, Trump once again acknowledged the possibility of U.S. losses not only abroad but also at home.
Asked whether Americans should worry about retaliatory attacks in their own countries, Trump said, “I guess so.”
“You know, we are expecting some things,” Trump said. “Like I said, some people are going to die. When you go to war, some people are going to die.”
Trump’s response was quickly criticized by Congressional Democrats, many of whom have tried to rein in Trump’s efforts through futile legislative action in the Republican-controlled Congress.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was troubled by the president’s “I guess” answer to the question of domestic attacks.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. There are completely frivolous, completely incompetent people who are mindlessly leading us into a deadly war,” Murphy said.
