United States President Donald Trump said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been eliminated, claiming he acted before alleged assassination attempts against him could succeed. In an interview with the American Broadcasting Company, Trump stated, 'I got him before he got me,' referring to what he described as two failed efforts by Iranian intelligence services to kill him.

Trump also said that potential successors to Khamenei had been killed, asserting that the attack 'knocked out most of the candidates' and that those considered second or third in line were dead. He suggested that Iran's next leader would not be anyone previously viewed as a likely successor.

In a separate interview with The New York Times, Trump said he had identified 'three very good choices' for leadership in Iran but declined to name them. He outlined several possible scenarios for a transition of power, including an approach similar to what he described as his strategy in Venezuela, where only former President Nicolas Maduro was removed while much of the existing government structure remained in place and became more open to working with the United States.