Senator Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, addressed Sunday’s massive U.S.-Israeli military operation inside Iran with skepticism over who will replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “There’s not a simple answer,” he said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
Cotton’s comments follow a Saturday raid that left at least 200 people dead in Iran and prompted retaliation from Israel and allied nations, including strikes in Abu Dhabi. The attack killed seven Iranian officials and commanders, including Ali Shamkhani, Khamenei’s adviser.
“The death of the supreme leader represents an immense challenge for Iran,” Cotton said. “There’s certainly a lot of jockeying inside Iran right now due to their consultative process to choose a successor. But I don’t think anyone can give you a simple answer as to who will lead.”
Cotton believes there are multiple potential candidates within the opposition, comprising 90 million Iranians who have endured “brutal Islamic Republic Revolutionary regime” for four decades. He added that the U.S. intends to continue targeting Iran’s military capabilities and senior leadership.
When pressed on identifying specific individuals, Cotton said he expects a more democratic process of transition. “I hope we see something similar to Venezuela,” he said, pointing to President-elect Delcy Rodriguez’s swift election in 2018 following Maduro’s capture.
Despite Trump stating the possibility of American casualties, Cotton insisted no ground forces would be deployed inside Iran. He emphasized that combat rescue assets are ready for any downed pilots.
“The president has no plan for a large-scale, ground force inside Iran,” Cotton stressed to Brennan. “There is always the risk of aircraft being shot down and the need to extract those pilots.”