Successors gone: US had identified three leaders to take over Iran after Khamenei, but all killed in initial strikes
Khamenei was killed early Saturday alongside other senior figures in an unprecedented assault launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt
- Mar 2, 2026,
- Updated Mar 2, 2026 3:06 PM IST
The United States had identified three possible candidates to take over Iran's leadership after the fall of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but all were killed in the opening wave of joint US–Israeli military strikes, President Donald Trump told a senior US journalist.
Also read: 'I got him before he got me': Trump says after Khamenei killed in US-Israel strikes
Khamenei was killed early Saturday alongside other senior figures in an unprecedented assault launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt.
Also read: From Iranian revolution and Gulf war to Libyan civil war: A look at 25-300% oil price rallies
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl said he spoke to Trump on Sunday night about Iran's leadership vacuum and Washington's plans.
"Pres Trump told me tonight the US had identified possible candidates to take over Iran, but they were killed in the initial attack. 'The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,' Trump told me. "It's not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.'"
In another phone call, President Trump talked about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. He told Karl: "I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first." Karl said that Trump's remark referenced what U.S. intelligence believes was a plot to kill Trump in 2024.
With the supreme leader gone, Iran's political structure has moved swiftly to stabilise. On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a new supreme leader would be chosen in "one or two days."
Karl pressed Trump on the duration of U.S. military operations against Iran. To this, Trump said: "As long as we want it to, actually. But it’s done such damage already. It's like - they are incapacitated, essentially."
Israel’s Channel 12 reported the Israeli air force killed 30 high-ranking Iranian officials within the first 30 seconds of the attack.
Trump told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders had been killed in the first two days of bombing, and claimed in a social media post that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and the naval headquarters destroyed.
The US and Israel continued strikes even on Sunday, the second day since the conflict began. The US and Israel pounded targets across the Islamic Republic, dropping massive bombs on the country's ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Khamenei. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes, according to Iranian leaders.
The United States had identified three possible candidates to take over Iran's leadership after the fall of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but all were killed in the opening wave of joint US–Israeli military strikes, President Donald Trump told a senior US journalist.
Also read: 'I got him before he got me': Trump says after Khamenei killed in US-Israel strikes
Khamenei was killed early Saturday alongside other senior figures in an unprecedented assault launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt.
Also read: From Iranian revolution and Gulf war to Libyan civil war: A look at 25-300% oil price rallies
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl said he spoke to Trump on Sunday night about Iran's leadership vacuum and Washington's plans.
"Pres Trump told me tonight the US had identified possible candidates to take over Iran, but they were killed in the initial attack. 'The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,' Trump told me. "It's not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.'"
In another phone call, President Trump talked about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. He told Karl: "I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first." Karl said that Trump's remark referenced what U.S. intelligence believes was a plot to kill Trump in 2024.
With the supreme leader gone, Iran's political structure has moved swiftly to stabilise. On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a new supreme leader would be chosen in "one or two days."
Karl pressed Trump on the duration of U.S. military operations against Iran. To this, Trump said: "As long as we want it to, actually. But it’s done such damage already. It's like - they are incapacitated, essentially."
Israel’s Channel 12 reported the Israeli air force killed 30 high-ranking Iranian officials within the first 30 seconds of the attack.
Trump told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders had been killed in the first two days of bombing, and claimed in a social media post that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and the naval headquarters destroyed.
The US and Israel continued strikes even on Sunday, the second day since the conflict began. The US and Israel pounded targets across the Islamic Republic, dropping massive bombs on the country's ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Khamenei. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes, according to Iranian leaders.