AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The Iranian government has vowed to avenge the death of the country's supreme leader with severe strikes. And in response, President Trump said yesterday that they, quote, "better not do that" or else face a force he says the country has never seen before. NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez joins us now to talk about this and more. Good morning.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So what's the latest? What is the White House saying?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, President Trump did confirm yesterday that Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes, you know, and calling the supreme leader one of the most evil people. Trump said the supreme leader just could not evade U.S. intelligence and tracking systems. And he called this not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans and those killed, in Trump's words, by the supreme leader's gang of bloodthirsty thugs. As you noted, Iranians have vowed to retaliate.
I mean, really, there are so many questions about what comes next. I mean, Trump continues to warn that this could be a drawn-out conflict, saying, you know, that the bombing will continue throughout the week or as long as necessary until peace is achieved, though he didn't give any specifics about what that means.
RASCOE: Trump also called for regime change in that same message yesterday. He spoke directly to the Iranian people.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.
RASCOE: Republicans have been calling for regime change in Iran for years. That's something that Trump has alluded to as a reason for these strikes. Can that actually happen?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting. Trump has called nation building and regime change a failure in the past, so this is a big change. But really, it depends on how he follows through with this. I mean, killing the supreme leader is a very big deal, but the supreme leader can be replaced by another cleric.
You know, it's hard to see regime change without ground troops, and Trump doesn't seem to have an appetite for that, at least not yet. You know, Trump is calling on the Iranian people to rise up and take over. And he wants the police and Revolutionary Guard to join forces with Iranian demonstrators to do that. And he's saying this is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.
RASCOE: We are in a midterm elections year. Could this action in Iran affect Republicans politically?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, I think, for sure. I mean, just back to that regime change part, I mean, Trump ran for office, boasting of starting new - no new wars, you know, blasting U.S. leaders who - past U.S. leaders who sought regime change and really championing himself as a president of peace.
You have now-former supporters like Marjorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA loyalist, now coming out and blasting Trump for abandoning his America First principles. Of course, his defenders say that's not the case. But Trump has been criticized for a lot, you know, recently for being too focused on foreign affairs, and the White House has been trying to, you know, pivot to domestic issues.
So to have Trump's attention on Iran ahead of the midterms is kind of risky, really risky when Republicans want the focus to be on kitchen-table issues, on the economy. And we haven't even talked about the pushback from Democrats and even some Republicans for launching these strikes without seeking congressional authorization. I mean, that's going to be a big debate next week, I expect.
RASCOE: Well, and it's not even just Iran. Like, Cuba has been on the president's radar. He ordered a fuel blockade at the end of January, which is hurting the island, according to aid groups. He even said that there may be what he called a friendly takeover there.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, talk about the potential of being stretched. And there's also Ukraine and Gaza. I mean, on Cuba, the U.S. cut off flow of oil when it took over Venezuelan oil and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. I mean, this sent Cuba into an economic spiral - no fuel, no transportation, people are struggling to work. Now, last week the U.S. did reopen oil sales - or says it would reopen oil sales to private Cuban companies, but it's unclear how this would work since Cuban government controls so many aspects of the life there.
RASCOE: On a totally separate topic, the Clintons spent Thursday and Friday testifying behind closed doors in the House Oversight Committee's Jeffrey Epstein probe. What do we know about that?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Thursday. She said she never met Jeffrey Epstein. And then former President Bill Clinton testified on Friday. He's by far the most prominent figure to be questioned. He insists he saw nothing. I will say, though, that Democrats are going to try to turn this to their advantage, and they're signaling they plan to use this as precedent to later call President Trump to testify.
RASCOE: That's NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you so much for being with us.
ORDOÑEZ: Thanks, Ayesha.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
