WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Washington has a “very good idea” about who could lead Iran next, claiming that “a lot” of the country’s current leadership has been killed in recent US-Israeli strikes.Speaking by phone to ABC News, Trump described the joint military operation as going “very well.”When asked whether senior Iranian leaders had been killed, Trump said: “A lot of it is, yeah. But we don’t know all, but a lot of it is. Was a very powerful strike.”On the question of Iran’s future leadership, he added: “Yes. We have a very good idea.”Trump said the duration of US military operations would depend on Washington’s objectives.“As long as we wanted to, actually,” he said. “But it’s done such damage already. It’s like, they are incapacitated.”In separate remarks to Axios, Trump cast doubt on Tehran’s willingness to finalize a nuclear agreement, saying Iran had come close to a deal before backing away.“They got close and then pulled back, close and then pulled back,” he said, adding that he concluded “they don’t really want a deal.”Trump described his latest phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “great,” saying: “We’re on the same wavelength.”Outlining possible paths forward, he said the United States could expand operations or end them quickly depending on developments.“I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding,’” he said, referring to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.He also said it could take “several years” for Iran to recover from the latest strikes.Trump accused Iran of attempting to rebuild nuclear facilities that were struck in June 2025, saying “Operation Midnight Hammer” had paved the way for the current campaign, referred to by US officials as “Operation Epic Fury.”Israel and the United States launched the joint operation early Saturday, citing alleged threats posed by the Iranian government.The escalation followed a round of US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday, which both sides had described as serious and constructive under Omani mediation.Last June, the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.
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