President Donald Trump has made a starting admission: that his war on Iran could ultimately make things worse for the people he promised to help.
Days after urging Iranians to “rise up” and reclaim their country with America’s backing, Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could ultimately leave them no better off, depending on who emerges to replace him.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person. Right, that could happen?” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worst, you go through this and in five years you realize you put somebody in who’s no better.”
Pressed about succession scenarios, the president also delivered a blunt assessment of the uncertainty now facing Iran’s political system, because “most of the people we had in mind (to succeed Khamenei) are dead.”
“Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody,” he said.
The admission came as the fallout over the war continued, with hundreds of thousands of Americans still trapped in the Middle East as the administration scrambles to get them out.
Much of the region’s airspace has been closed amid fears of retaliation and escalating military exchanges. Commercial flights are grounded and evacuation options remain limited.
But as Trump reaffirmed on Tuesday that the war would go on for a while, White House officials, including communications boss Stephen Cheung and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt began posting pleas for the media’s help.
“MEDIA REQUEST: Please run this information on your screens and socials to get this information out to people in the region looking for updates on travel,” Cheung wrote on X, alongside a State Department phone number for people overseas to call.
Back in Iran, Khamenei’s death has been welcomed by citizens who have had to live under his tyrannical rule for decades.
However, it has also upended the Islamic Republic’s leadership structure and raised fears of a prolonged power struggle among hardline clerics, senior military commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and political factions jockeying for control.
Analysts warn that such instability could trigger intensified repression at home as rival groups attempt to consolidate power, as well as violent infighting that further destabilizes the country.
And many reject Trump’s claim, made on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, that Iran wanted to come back to the negotiating table, “but I said TOO LATE!”
“I think the Trump administration’s talk about this now extending to four weeks etcetera reflects the fact that they have realized the Iranians are not going to agree to a cease fire,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
“This is going to be longer, and now the administration is trying to change the expectations on the American side.”
For ordinary Iranians, the risks are significant. A chaotic succession could bring harsher crackdowns on dissent, economic disruption, and shortages if unrest spreads.
Trump has framed the strike as a decisive blow against an autocratic regime, but his own remarks underscore the unpredictability of what comes next.
His comments about the “worst case scenario” also come only days after he announced the strike in a social media video, telling Iranians: “America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.”
“For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now, you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond,” he said in the eight-minute video.
“Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”
