US identifies three candidates for Iran leadership role

Middle Eastern outlets frame Trump’s talk of replacing Khamenei and choosing Iran’s next leader as a repeat of past US interventions that left the region unstable. They stress Iranian claims of being prepared for a long war and question whether the US has enough weapons to sustain both the Iran campaign and other commitments. Many writers argue that using Kurdish groups or exiled figures as tools for regime change would deepen internal divisions in Iran and risk wider regional spillover.

• •Regional commentators describe Trump’s strike on Iran and leadership plans as a betrayal of his earlier promise to end 'endless wars'.
• •Iranian officials and allies insist the country has prepared for a drawn‑out conflict and will resist any US attempt to pick its leaders.
• •Analysts in the region warn that US stockpiles of precision weapons and air defences could be stretched by a long assault on Iran.
• •Some Middle Eastern voices discuss whether Kurdish groups inside Iran might be used by Washington to pressure Tehran’s leadership.
• •Writers in the region argue that open US debate over who should rule Iran undermines any claim that the war is only about missiles or nuclear sites.