The Israel Defense Forces turned to a new target in the early hours of Monday (2) after Iranian-backed militias became involved in the war with the Persian country: Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump estimated in an interview with The New York Times that fighting in Tehran could last “four to five weeks” if necessary.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz named this Monday (2) the head of the terrorist group Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, as a “marked target” to be eliminated, and insisted that the Lebanese militia “will pay a high price” for having attacked northern Israel this morning.
“Anyone who follows (Ali) Khamenei’s path will soon find themselves with him in the depths of hell, along with all those who have been drawn into the axis of evil,” Katz said in a post on social media site X.
Israel and Hezbollah exchanged attacks in the early hours of Monday, on the third day of war with Iran, after the breaking of a fragile truce that lasted a year, opening a new battle front in the Middle East.
In turn, President Trump argued that “it will not be difficult” for Israel and the United States to maintain the intensity of the battle within Iranian territory. The American president shared with the Times some options that would be available to him to deal with the regional crisis.
What are Trump’s options?
Among the proposals presented by Trump is a result similar to the one he designed for Venezuela, in which the removal of the dictator would be sufficient for his short-term objectives.
In January, American special forces captured Caracas’ authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, keeping the Chavista regime in power. Since then, he has negotiated with the remaining high-ranking figures linked to Maduro.
Iranian state agencies and President Trump himself have confirmed that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in one of Saturday’s attacks. If the US repeats the model of action in Venezuela, much of what remains of the regime may remain in office, but now more willing to work pragmatically with the US.
Still in the interview, Trump stated that he had at least “three great options” to lead Iran on an interim basis, although he refused to name them. This Sunday, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, 66 years old, took over as head of the interim council that now leads Iran. He will work alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
