Trump’s top diplomat Marco Rubio says there are “fractures” within the Iranian regime, and the United States hopes figures with “power to deliver” will take control.
“We are hopeful that that’s the case,” the Secretary of State told the US-based ABC News overnight.
“There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past, some of the things they’re willing to do,” he said.
But Rubio pulled no punches with his description of Iran’s government, insisting Operation Epic Fury was necessary to break the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
“These people are lunatics. They are insane. They are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future,” he said.
In another interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio said it is unclear whether the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is in power.
“No one has seen him. No one has heard from him.”
“It’s very opaque right now. It’s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran,” he said.
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