What is the strategy for regime change in Iran and is it working?

A woman crosses almost deserted square with a billboard at rear showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.–Israeli military campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vahid Salemi/AP

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Vahid Salemi/AP

Days after Israeli and U.S. air strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israel said it had targeted the building where top Iranian clerics would meet to choose his successor. Israel’s Prime Minister says the goal of this war is to get rid of the religious regime that has ruled Iran for almost half a century. Many of the possible successors to Iran’s have been killed in the attacks, leading to questions to what and who might come next. We hear from NPR correspondents covering the White House and the Middle East.

And in announcing the U.S. attacks on Iran, President Trump called on Iranian security forces to defect and for Iranians to take over the government. We hear from people inside Iran to gauge the possibility of that happening.