Trump Eyes 'Venezuela Model' for Iran, Says Strikes Could Last Weeks

In a brief telephone interview with The New York Times, Trump outlined his confidence in sustaining the campaign and repeatedly pointed to what he described as a successful precedent in Latin America.

"What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario," Trump said, referring to an outcome in which only the top leader was removed while much of the government remained in place.

"Everybody's kept their job except for two people," he added.

Asked how long the United States and Israel could maintain the current level of attacks, Trump said: "Well, we intended four to five weeks."

"It won't be difficult," he added. "We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. You know, we have ammunition stored all over the world in different countries."

Speaking roughly 36 hours into the conflict, Trump acknowledged the risk of further American casualties.

"Three is three too many as far as I'm concerned," he said. "If you look at projections, they do projections, it, you know, it could be quite a bit higher than that."

"We expect casualties," he added.He also claimed that joint US-Israeli strikes had "knocked out a big portion" of the Iranian navy, including nine ships and the navy headquarters.

Yet his description of how power might change hands in Iran shifted during the interview.

At one point, he suggested Iran's elite forces would lay down their arms. "They would really surrender to the people, if you think about it," he said, expressing hope that hardened officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would turn over their weapons to the public.

Pressed on who should lead Iran after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump said: "I have three very good choices." He added: "I won't be revealing them now. Let's get the job done first."He then offered another possibility, suggesting it would be up to Iranians to overthrow the current government.

"That's going to be up to them about whether or not they do," he said. "They've been talking about it for years so now they'll obviously have an opportunity."

Trump said he would consider lifting sanctions if new leaders proved pragmatic, but declined to commit to defending Iranians if they rose up.

"I don't make a commitment one way or the other; it's too early," he said. "We have work to do, and we've done it very well. I'd say we're quite ahead of schedule."

He also said he did not believe Arab states in the Persian Gulf needed to join Washington in striking Iran.

The latest escalation comes amid heightened tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran over Tehran's military capabilities and its long-running nuclear programme.

- IANS