Washington, March 8 (SANA) In a wide-ranging interview with ABC News on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a blunt ultimatum to the Iranian leadership as the conflict enters its second week. Trump asserted that any successor to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would require explicit American approval to remain in power.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump stated. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.” The President framed this demand as a strategic necessity to ensure the United States does not have to revisit the conflict in the future or allow the regime to finalize a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear Material and Special Operations
President Trump did not rule out the deployment of U.S. Special Operations units to physically seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles. When pressed on whether ground forces might be sent into highly fortified sites like Natanz, Isfahan, or Fordow—targeted earlier during Operation Midnight Hammer—he replied, “Everything is on the table. Everything.”
This comes as senior administration officials warned that Iran currently holds enough material to reach weapons-grade status in 10 days or less. Military planners are reportedly considering “loose nukes” operations where elite units would move in to dilute or remove fissile material on-site.
“Operation Epic Fury” Status
Justifying the current military campaign, Trump characterized Iran as a “paper tiger” that had been planning to “take over the entire Middle East” prior to the U.S.-Israeli strikes that began on February 28. He claimed the operation—Operation Epic Fury—is currently “ahead of schedule both in terms of lethality and in terms of time.”
Regarding the human cost of the war, Trump noted he had met with the families of six fallen U.S. soldiers over the weekend. He described the event as “beautiful” and stated that the families encouraged him to “win this” for their children, reaffirming his resolve to continue the campaign without a fixed timeline.
