‘Trump wants regime change enabled by Iranians from within’: Ex-UK CDS Gen Carter on US-Israeli goal

Key Highlights

• This will be probably your only chance for generations,” Trump said in an address after the offensive began. Iran early on Sunday announced the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
• Amid the power vacuum and uncertainty around succession, Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told state media that a three‑member council comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary head Gholam‑Hossein Mohseni‑Ejei, and another jurist had assumed charge of the regime in the interim. More from World ‘There is no limited strike’: Iran warns Trump any military action will be act of war Can Trump calm voters’ economic concerns with the State of the Union speech?Follow our live coverage of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran here“It’s quite clear in that speech that regime change, enabled by the Iranian population, is what, of course, he’s striving to achieve.
• Well, in my own personal opinion, that’s not going to happen in Iran.
• I think it’s an extremely difficult objective to realise,” said Carter at the Rising Bharat Summit. Carter said that the power structure in Iran is such that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other systems sustain the regime even if the offensive takes down the political leadership. Quick ReadsView AllIran Israel War Live Updates: Apart from Khamenei, US‑Israel strikes kill over 40 top-tier Iranian officials8 killed as mob storms US Consulate in Karachi, sets parts of building ablaze over Khamenei death death“Unless there was a genuinely popular uprising, where people overcome the potential fear the regime uses to remain in power as well, I think it will be phenomenally difficult to see it happen.
• Now, some of the military objectives, I think, may well be achievable.