Analyst: Trump conditions halt to Iran strikes on regime change

Political analyst Vardan Balayan says U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly set regime change in Iran as a precondition for ending military operations against the country.

In a social media post on Monday, Balayan pointed to the reported killing of Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who had been named Iran’s interim supreme leader, as part of Trump's strategy.

According to him, the United States and its ally Israel consider any future Iranian government that includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be unacceptable.

“In the coming days, further targeted military operations aimed at eliminating key military and political figures of Iran’s current regime are likely,” Balayan wrote. “The message is clear: Iran cannot remain in the anti-American geopolitical camp.”

“While a revolutionary change of power appears unlikely, two scenarios seem more plausible: a deal with the ruling regime or the launch of a plan to fragment the country,” the analyst added.