Trump Floats Weeks-Long Military Campaign in Iran

President Trump said in a quick interview on Sunday that the US is prepared to continue the military campaign against Iran for four to five weeks. "It won't be difficult," Trump told the New York Times. "We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. You know, we have ammunition stored all over the world in different countries." Trump also offered a few different scenarios on how Iran's leadership void could be filled now that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead.

"What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario," Trump said, referencing how US forces captured Nicolas Maduro but left other officials in place on the theory they would be more cooperative with the US. However, he also suggested the Iranian populace could overthrow the government. "They've been talking about it for years so now they'll obviously have an opportunity." All in all, Trump said he had "three very good choices" for a new leader, without naming names.

Trump gave a similar timeline in an interview with the UK's Daily Mail. "It's always been about a four-week process, so, as strong as it is, it's a big country, it'll take four weeks, or less." Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal analysis suggests shifting military objectives—is it all about regime change or reducing the nuclear threat?—could complicate the mission and affect its length.