Axios: ‘Worst-case scenario’: Trump weighs replacing Khamenei as leader of Iran
axios United States President Donald Trump publicly mused about who should lead Iran after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the “worst-case scenario” would be installing a successor as bad as his predecessor. He made the remarks on Tuesday in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as the US and Israel continue their military offensive. The president framed the discussion as part of a broader effort to eliminate perceived threats from the Iranian regime.
Key facts at the top
Trump suggested that the most worrisome outcome would be replacing Khamenei with another leader hostile to US priorities. The US and Israel launched their military offensive on February 28 (ET). Iran’s death toll has reached at least 787 people, and at least six US service members have been killed in the fighting. The administration has offered multiple rationales for the attack; Trump explicitly described the action as aimed at “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime” and urged Iranian opposition members to “take over your government. ” Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense, told reporters that “This is not a so-called regime change war, ” while also asserting the regime changed and that the world is better off for it.
Axios: What Trump said and how he framed it
In the Oval Office exchange, Trump said he had “few worries from a military standpoint” but was concerned about the political aftermath. He warned that “the worst case would be we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, ” and added that “you go through this and then, in five years, you realise you put somebody in who is no better. ” He declined to present a concrete successor, dismissing some external candidates as impractical and noting that many of “the people we had in mind are dead. ” The president pointed to the administration’s recent actions in Venezuela as a model, referencing a January 3 (ET) operation that culminated in the capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro and the swearing-in of Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela’s interim leader, who has since acceded to US demands including surrendering millions of barrels of oil.
Responses and close-in perspectives
Reza Pahlavi, identified as the exiled crown prince and currently in exile in the United States, has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader and has said he is “uniquely placed” to lead a transitional government; he has asserted that “millions of Iranians inside Iran and outside Iran are calling my name. ” Pahlavi has scheduled a public appearance later in March (ET) in Texas. At the same time, the administration said it has not been actively planning to install a specific foreign figure and questioned whether an exiled candidate would be accepted inside Iran. Senior officials have offered competing emphases: Trump has framed the strikes as preventing threats and encouraging opposition action, while the Department of Defense has sought to portray the campaign as not a regime-change war even as some comments suggest regime change occurred.
Immediate human costs and regional fallout remain central. Injuries and deaths have been reported across the region, and another strike reportedly targeted surviving Iranian leaders on Tuesday, the president confirmed. The political landscape inside Iran, who might lead next, and whether any replacement would align with US priorities are unresolved and highlighted as core risks by the administration.
What happens next will hinge on political consolidations inside Iran, further military developments, and how opposition actors respond to calls to seize power; analysts and officials will be watching whether a successor emerges who is less hostile to US aims or whether the “worst-case scenario” Trump described takes hold. The debate over leadership and strategy will continue to shape policy and military decisions in the coming days and weeks as events unfold in the region and as the administration frames its objectives in public statements and internal planning. axios
