Trump: ‘It’s Time to Look For New Leadership in Iran’

History does not move in a straight line. It advances in rare, fleeting moments—cracks in the wall—when the future can be bent, for good or for evil. Such moments are unmistakable, and they do not linger. The unraveling of Iran’s mullahcracy is one of them.

For decades, the Islamic Republic—the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror—has spread bloodshed far beyond its borders, not only by its own hand but through a web of proxies stretching from Afghanistan to Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Its reach has been global; its toll incalculable.

Today, the people of Iran are paying for liberation with their lives—by the tens of thousands—rising against a jihadist regime that has brutalized them since 1979. Their courage is not theoretical. It is written in prisons, in mass graves, and in the streets.

We must hear their cry—not only for their sake, but for our own. From the murdered Marines at Beirut to the long trail of American dead through Iraq and beyond, the Iranian regime’s war against the free world has never ceased.

This is the moment. The risks are grave, but the cost of inaction is graver still. When history opens a door like this, to hesitate is not restraint—it is surrender.

Khamenei today: “We broke the back of the rioters. The day of the successful crackdown will be remembered as a day of celebration for years to come.”

He has become so emboldened that he is shamelessly calling the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians a “celebration.” pic.twitter.com/gW3zDzpAps

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 17, 2026

White House: Trump Has All Options on Table Regarding Iran

Iran’s security forces may have used lethal chemical weapons against them. Former British MP Bill Rammell stated that the Iranian authorities might have used toxic chemical substances during the deadliest suppression of protests in the country’s modern history, citing a credible… pic.twitter.com/8aj0gWYo2s

— Mike (@Doranimated) January 17, 2026

Whether he will now make good on his promise to the protesters that help was on its way remains to be seen, but at least at this point he is no longer credulously claiming that the Islamic Republic has stopped killing protesters. (Robert Spencer)

“Trump to POLITICO: ‘It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,’”

By Sophia Cai, Politico, January 17, 2026:

President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year reign.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told POLITICO, as widespread protests calling for an end to the regime appear to have waned….

Trump, after being read the posts, said Tehran’s rulers rely on repression and violence to govern. “What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,” Trump said. “In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is a very low level — the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control.”

“Leadership is about respect, not fear and death,” Trump added.

The exchange underscores a sharpening rhetoric between Washington and Tehran at a volatile moment for the region, and as Khamenei recently made a public address in which he claimed that “the Iranian nation has defeated America.”

Trump went further in personal terms, denouncing Khamenei and the Iranian system of governance.

“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump said. “His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership.”…