TDV: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that regime change in Iran could eventually occur, though it may not happen immediately, citing the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of protesters as a major obstacle to a popular uprising.
Speaking on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show, Trump said security forces loyal to the Islamic Republic routinely shoot demonstrators in the streets, making it difficult for unarmed civilians to challenge the regime despite growing pressure from the ongoing conflict.
“They literally have people in the streets with machine guns, machine-gunning people down if they want to protest,” Trump said, referring to Iran’s security forces. “That’s a pretty big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons.”
Trump said that while change inside Iran will eventually happen, it is unlikely to occur quickly under such conditions.
“It’ll happen,” he said, “but it probably will be — maybe not immediately.”
The US president made the remarks while discussing the internal situation in Iran amid the escalating war between Iran, Israel and the United States. Trump argued that the regime maintains control largely through force, describing the security forces as an “evil group of people” who shoot protesters “right through the head.”
Trump gave a slightly different perspective on whether the U.S. military could escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. His energy secretary, Scott Bessent, had previously said the plan was to set up escorts “as soon as it is military possible.” But Trump was not as concrete. “We would do it if we needed to,” Trump told Fox, adding that “we’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week” despite having previously claimed the war was “won.”
Asked about the fate of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojataba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump tells Fox News, “I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form.” Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was selected to replace his father.
Trump gave a slightly different perspective on whether the U.S. military could escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. His energy secretary, Scott Bessent, had previously said the plan was to set up escorts “as soon as it is military possible.” But Trump was not as concrete. “We would do it if we needed to,” Trump told Fox, adding that “we’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week” despite having previously claimed the war was “won.”
Asked about the fate of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojataba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump tells Fox News, “I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form.” Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was selected to replace his father.
Washington and its ally launched the offensive on February 28 with strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering a widening regional war that has rattled global energy markets and drawn missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
“We’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week,” Trump told Fox News Radio, adding that he believed Iran’s leadership could eventually be toppled by its own people.
“I really think that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons,” Trump said. “I think it’s a very big hurdle… It’ll happen, but it probably will be, maybe not immediately.”
Trump’s remarks came as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington and Israel had already struck more than 15,000 targets since launching an air campaign against Iran on February 28.
“Between our air force and that of the Israelis, over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck. That’s well over 1,000 a day,” Hegseth told reporters, adding that Friday would see the highest volume of strikes so far.
All six of the crew members aboard a U.S. refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are now confirmed to have died, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X. “The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
CENTCOM previously said four crew members had died after the KC-135 craft went down yesterday, and that a search was underway for the two others.
US President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Friday he suspected Russian leader Vladimir Putin was aiding Iran in the war against the United States and Israel.
“I think he might be helping him a little bit, yeah, I guess. And he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio.
