Rubio: ‘No One Knows Who Will Rule Iran After Khamenei’
Senior U.S. officials are openly acknowledging that Washington has no clear picture of who would assume power in Iran if the current regime were to collapse, even as American military forces continue to surge toward the region. Speaking at a Senate hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the question of succession after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains unanswered, according to a report by Axios correspondent Barak Ravid.
“Nobody can give an answer as to what will happen the day after if the Iranian regime falls,” Rubio told lawmakers. He also emphasized the risks facing U.S. personnel in the region, noting that between 30,000 and 40,000 American troops stationed in the Middle East could be targeted by Iranian missiles or drones in the event of retaliation following a U.S. strike.
Rubio stressed that military readiness remains a core element of the administration’s posture, explaining that “The President always keeps for himself the option of launching a defensive preemptive strike.” He added, “That’s why it is wise to have forces in the region that can respond and, if necessary, carry out a preemptive strike to protect American troops and our allies. I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
President Donald Trump echoed that message on Wednesday, issuing a public warning that a significant U.S. naval force is on its way toward Iran while urging the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to enter talks without delay and agree to what he described as a fair agreement.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said, “A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela.”
He continued with another warning, stating, “Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”
Trump followed up with an additional post, repeating his earlier threats toward Tehran: “As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The president reinforced that warning last Thursday during an in-flight briefing with reporters as he traveled back to Washington from Davos, describing what he said was a substantial American military buildup near Iran. “We have a lot of ships going in that direction, just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
During the same exchange, Trump claimed he personally intervened to stop mass executions in Iran the previous week. “I stopped 837 hangings [last] Thursday. They would have been dead. Every one of them would have been hung…I said ‘if you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit. It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.’ And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it. And they actually said they canceled it. They didn’t postpone it. They canceled it. So that was a good sign.”
Iran responded with its own warnings. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei cautioned that any attack would trigger what he described as a “comprehensive and regret inducing” retaliation by the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, reports on Tuesday indicated that U.S. officials are considering limited strikes aimed at Iranian officials and military commanders, as reports from inside Iran put the death toll from ongoing protests at more than 36,000.
{Matzav.com}
