Trump says he agrees to talks with Iran's new leadership, "a Venezuela-style ending" is one of the options.
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US President Trump expressed willingness to hold talks with Iran’s new leadership and proposed various regime change scenarios, including the “Venezuela model,” while vowing that US-Israeli military operations would continue until their objectives are achieved.
According to the latest report from Xinhua News Agency, on March 1st, US President Trump said that Iran’s new leadership wishes to talk with him, and he also agreed to hold talks with Iran.
“They want to talk, and I’m also willing, so I’ll talk with them.”
When asked when the talks would take place, Trump replied, “I can’t tell you.” He said that some of the Iranians involved in the negotiations in recent weeks had died, “They could have made a deal, they should have done it sooner, they tried to be clever.”
Trump made these remarks after the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran and Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed, which may indicate new political maneuvering space in the midst of great turmoil in the Middle East. Xinhua mentions that on March 1st, Iranian President Pezeshkian said that Iran’s interim leadership committee had started work that day, and would continue until a new Supreme Leader is elected.
Trump Mentions the “Venezuela Model”
When discussing Iran’s new leadership, Trump raised a much-watched option—the “Venezuela model.” In recent media interviews, Trump stated that in Venezuela, the US had taken control of the supreme leader, while most of the government structure was retained and willing to cooperate with the US.
According to CCTV News, on January 3rd of this year, US President Trump announced that the US military had launched a raid in Venezuela, captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and said the two would go to New York to face criminal charges; he also declared the United States would “temporarily run” Venezuela.
Trump said:
“What we did in Venezuela, I think, was perfect, a perfect scenario.”
According to reports, Trump hinted this model could be replicated in Iran, that is, to find a leadership more willing to cooperate with the United States.
However, this idea faces huge challenges. Iran has a large military force and a complex social structure and maintains its related nuclear program. Trump’s advisers have warned that vast cultural and historical differences make it almost impossible to replicate the Venezuela strategy in Iran.
At the same time, Trump's own statement is also full of contradictions. He gave several not entirely consistent scenarios, without clearly stating whether it would be “maintaining the existing power structure” or “overturning the old structure.”
While repeatedly mentioning what he calls “the Venezuela experience,” Trump also declared that he hopes Iran’s elite armed forces—including “hardline officers” in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—would hand over their weapons to the Iranian people. He said: “If you think about it, they would in fact surrender to the people.”
On the question of “who will lead Iran,” Trump said he has “three very good options,” but refused to name them: “I won’t reveal it now. Let’s get things settled first.”
Media reports also mentioned that Iran earlier in the day stated a temporary committee would run the country pending the appointment of a new Supreme Leader; the reports referred to the statement of Iran’s top national security official Ali Larijani, noting that he had once been in charge of nuclear negotiations with the US and was sanctioned by the Trump administration this January. Trump did not answer whether he sees Larijani as a possible leader of the Iranian government.
Military Operations to Continue, Ammo Stockpiles Draw Attention
On the duration of the conflict, Trump’s statement differs from what he said earlier. He said that the US and Israel would continue military operations until all objectives are achieved.
According to CCTV News, US President Trump gave a video speech on March 1st in which he said the United States and Israel would continue military actions against Iran until all objectives were achieved. Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi said that day that Iran will decide when and how this US-Israeli war of aggression will end.
Previously, Trump had said: military action against Iran might last about 4 weeks.
When talking about sustaining combat intensity, Trump said:
“It’s not going to be hard… We have a lot of ammunition. You know, we’ve stored ammo in different countries around the world.”
Although Trump expressed confidence in ammunition reserves, the Pentagon had previously voiced concerns that the conflict could further deplete strategic reserves. Against the backdrop of several US casualties, Trump admitted, “We expect there will be casualties,” and said that, according to estimates, the number may be higher.
Iran’s “Mosaic Defense”
Facing ongoing US-Israeli strikes, Iran has not shown weakness.
According to CCTV News, on the 1st, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi posted on social media saying that Iran has been studying US military failures for the past 20 years, and that US-Israeli bombardment of Iran’s capital Tehran would not affect Iran’s war capabilities.
Aragchi stated, Iran’s decentralized, distributed “mosaic defense” system enables Iran to decide when and how the war ends.
This indicates Iran is prepared for a prolonged conflict.
At present, Iran’s interim leadership committee has begun work, and will continue until the new Supreme Leader is elected. Trump said that if the new leadership shows a pragmatic, cooperative attitude, he is willing to lift sanctions on Iran. However, given that the conflict is still ongoing and both sides remain at odds, any substantive dialogue and compromise faces serious obstacles.
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