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  "path": "/post/207271/trump-armed-militias-phase-two-iran-war",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-03T16:39:24.000Z",
  "site": "https://newrepublic.com",
  "tags": [
    "Breaking News",
    "Politics",
    "Republicans",
    "Republican Party",
    "United States",
    "Donald Trump",
    "Iran",
    "Middle East",
    "Foreign Policy",
    "War",
    "Israel",
    "World",
    "bombed",
    "open to supporting armed militias",
    "told",
    "said"
  ],
  "textContent": "On Tuesday, Israel bombed Iran’s Council of Experts while it was in the process of choosing a new supreme leader. That same day, it was reported that President Trump is open to supporting armed militias in the region.\n\nThese two events seem to indicate that Trump has entered phase two of his regime-change plan in Iran, and, unlike in Venezuela, will not be working with the existing apparatus to do so.\n\nIsrael stated that the council bombing occurred while votes for the next supreme leader were being counted by its 88 members. There is no casualty count at the time of this writing.\n\n“We wanted to prevent them from picking a new supreme leader,” an Israel Defense Forces official told Axios.\n\n_The Wall Street Journal_ reported that Trump spoke with Kurds and other local factions, and may potentially support them in their efforts to fill the massive leadership gap that Israel and the U.S. are attempting to create in Tehran. It’s not clear whether the leaders were based in Iran or in neighboring countries.\n\n“The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,” Trump said on Sunday. “It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.”",
  "title": "Trump Flirts With Armed Militias as He Enters Phase Two of Iran War"
}