Donald Trump is causing irritation with contradictory statements about his goals in Iran. Image: keystone
Donald Trump is causing confusion with contradictory statements about US goals in Iran. An interview he gave to the New York Times underlines the US government’s lack of plan, at least on the surface.
Mar 2, 2026, 4:55 a.mMar 2, 2026, 5:09 am
First he justified the attacks on Iran with reference to the country’s nuclear and missile program, then above all the mullahs’ regime should be overthrown – and now Donald Trump speaks in an interview with the New York Times about a “Venezuela scenario” as the optimal solution for the future of Iran from the US perspective:
“What we did in Venezuela is, in my opinion, the perfect, the perfect scenario.”
Donald Trump
That would presumably mean: the heads of the current regime have to go – many are actually already dead – so that those in the second tier who are willing to work with the US can take over. It is at least questionable whether the situation of the Iranian people would noticeably improve as a result. The change to a democratic system would probably be almost impossible.
Other statements made by Trump in the interview speak against such a change. When asked how a transition of power in the country might take place, the US president said he hoped that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards would hand over their weapons to the Iranian people.
“They would really surrender to the population if you think about it.”
How realistic Trump really believes such a scenario is is not clear from the published statements. Around the turn of the year, the Revolutionary Guard killed thousands of people who were protesting in the streets with the Basij militia they created, a kind of volunteer militia for regime supporters. Even now the militia has already been put on alert again, like that NYT previously reported.
Regarding his now apparent wishful thinking of a Venezuela scenario for Iran, Trump said with regard to a possible US-friendly leader for the country:
«I have three very good candidates. I won’t name them yet. Let’s get the work done first.”
However, the US President stated that he would be prepared to lift sanctions against Iran if a new leadership proves to be a pragmatic partner for the US.
Trump was then asked again about the possibility of the Iranian people overthrowing the regime. He replied: “That’s up to them.” They (the Iranian people, editor) have been talking about it for years, and now they obviously have the opportunity to do so.
Experts currently believe that the “possibility” mentioned by Trump is for the population not particularly promising. On the one hand, the population has little access to weapons, and on the other hand, the protest movement that took to the streets around the turn of the year was brutally massacred by the Revolutionary Guards and thus slowed down.
Given the brutality of the regime, it seems unlikely that people will take to the streets again and unarmed without concrete assurances of support – and the most recent statements Trump and leading Republicans show no willingness to make such commitments.
But Trump still didn’t want to commit himself in the short interview:
«I don’t want to commit myself in one direction or the other; it’s still too early.”
They started very well, but there is still work to be done. According to Trump, we are well ahead of schedule. (con)
The Watson analysis of US targets in Iran: