President Donald Trump said the United States had identified possible successors to Iran’s supreme leader before launching its military strikes — but claimed those individuals were eliminated in the opening wave of attacks that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The president shared the details during a call Sunday night with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl. According to Karl, Trump described the operation as extraordinarily successful and suggested it dramatically reshaped Iran’s leadership structure.
Appearing on ABC News, Karl recounted his conversation with the president.
“First, striking how stunningly successful the president believes this military operation has been,” Karl said. “He actually told me ‘nobody else could have done this but me.’”
Trump reportedly said that prior to the strikes, U.S. officials had identified potential candidates within the Iranian government who could step into leadership roles. However, he told Karl that those individuals were killed in the sweeping attacks.
“As for who’s going to lead Iran, he said that they had identified some possible candidates within the structure of the Iranian government,” Karl explained. “But as you said, they’re all dead. He said ‘the attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates.’”
The president also told Karl that an Iranian government insider had reached out to him in the aftermath of the strikes in an apparent attempt to negotiate.
“He told me that somebody within the Iranian government has reached out to him,” Karl said. When asked who it was, Trump reportedly responded, “I probably shouldn’t tell you,” but indicated it was someone who had survived the attack and who, as Karl described, was “no longer reporting to the Supreme Leader.”
Among those confirmed dead in the strikes are Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser within the Iranian government; General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Their deaths represent a significant blow to the upper ranks of Iran’s political and military leadership.
Despite Trump’s claims about potential outreach from within the regime, Iranian officials have publicly rejected negotiations. Iran has reportedly installed a temporary governing council during the transition period following Khamenei’s death. Meanwhile, the regime’s National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani stated that the government “will not negotiate with the United States.”
Trump has indicated that the broader conflict may last “four weeks or so,” signaling that the military campaign is ongoing. He also acknowledged that three U.S. service members have been killed in the fighting.
The president’s remarks underscore his view that the strikes delivered a decisive and historic blow to Iran’s leadership. By his account, the operation not only eliminated the supreme leader but also removed much of the regime’s potential next tier of leadership in a single wave.
At the same time, uncertainty remains about who will ultimately emerge to lead Iran and whether diplomatic channels will reopen despite official denials from Tehran.
As the conflict continues, Trump is projecting confidence in the mission’s success, arguing that the operation fundamentally altered the balance of power inside Iran. Whether that assessment holds as events unfold will likely shape both the region’s future and America’s role in it in the weeks ahead.
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