Donald Trump backs regime change with bombs – here’s best option to stop Iran’s collapse | World | News

A well-established pro-democracy group in Iran has become the first to declare an interim government following US-Israeli airstrikes on the ruling regime. Maryam Rajavi, head of Iran’s National Council of Resistance, unveiled a 10-point plan (in effect Iran’s bill of rights) and declared an interim government today. Donald Trump has publicly stated that the ongoing attacks are to remove Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from power and end half a century of theocratic dictatorship. Reports suggest he may already be dead, along with senior members of the Revolutionary Guard, whom he loathes.

In a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort, President Trump said: “We will destroy their missiles and we will destroy their missile industry. When we are done, take over your government. It will be yours to take.”

However, Iranian experts are concerned that US/Israeli attacks on strategic targets will create a power vacuum. The son of dethroned Shah Reza Pahlavi (nicknamed Baby Shah) is also making plans to come to power in Tehran, and high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guard have also been tipped to take over if Khemenei falls.

Holly Dagres, an Iranian-American writer for The Iranist, a newsletter on current Iranian events, said: “I think there are probably conversations where the possibility of overthrowing the supreme leader is an option… There is a widespread assumption that some Revolutionary Guard type will rise from the ashes and take over the country.”

Whatever the impact of the Trump attack, there will likely be a bitter divide over succession.

President Trump’s military operation is expected to last several days and follows the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq war.

Iran has attempted strikes against American assets in Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE, but these have largely been dealt with by anti-missile batteries, underscoring how militarily weak Iran actually is.

The US has focused on hundreds of “high-value targets”, including facilities and capabilities of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, naval facilities and “underground facilities” linked to the country’s nuclear program.

A US official said: “We have effectively suppressed their air defenses.” Another added that Iran’s response was “ineffective.”

The first attack of today’s wave of US attacks appeared to target the offices of Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This was also the target of MEK rebels affiliated with Marayam Rajavi’s NCRI on Monday.

Announcing the interim government plans today, Ms Rajavi said: “Our path is not towards a return to the embedded dictatorship of the past, but towards the future and the establishment of a democratic republic.

“Our homeland continues to endure greater suffering and destruction under the rule of religious fascism. In these difficult conditions, I call on all of you, especially the brave youth of our country, to take care of civilians and the general public, especially children and the elderly, to protect them and to help each other.

“Now is the time for solidarity. Our strength comes from the unity and solidarity of our people against the religious dictatorship and the remnants of monarchical fascism that are trying to steal the democratic revolution.

“In the war that broke out today due to the nuclear and missile programs of the religious regime, which the Iranian Resistance exposed thirty years ago, all relevant parties must show utmost care to prevent any harm to the Iranian people and the country’s civilian infrastructure.”

“Baby Shah” Reza Pahlavi is trying to build a political machine in exile, with some success, and in recent anti-government protests many Iranians who took to the streets chanted his name and adopted the old monarchist flag, which featured a lion as a symbol of resistance.

But one of the key slogans during the January riots, in which some 40,000 citizens were killed by Khamenei’s supporters, was “neither ayatollah nor king”, a clear reference to Pahlavi. And even Donald Trump He said: “He seems like a very nice guy, but I don’t know how he will play in his own country. I don’t know if his country will accept his leadership.”

Marayam Rajavi promises a six-month interim government before a free and fair national election.

His 10-point plan includes the absolute rejection of religious rule, freedom of expression, disbanding the Revolutionary Guard, commitment to individual and social freedoms, independent judiciary, and separation of religion and state.