Retired four-star General David Petraeus, a veteran of nearly four decades in the US Army and a former director of the CIA, endorses the Trump administration’s frank account of operations.

In an interview with RFE/RL on March 2, Petraeus, who previously commanded US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, noted the US openness about its substantial achievements, as well as its losses of personnel and aircraft.

He said the consequences of killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials are uncertain until a successor emerges, and while the stated US aim of the military action is to create conditions that might allow Iranians — or disaffected regime elements — to topple the Islamic republic’s leadership, he stresses it remains to be seen whether that is realistic.

RFE/RL: What is your snapshot reaction to the remarks we just heard from the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?Petraeus: I thought that the secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs laid out a very sober, forthright, comprehensive description of what it is that we have sought to do: in general terms describing what we have done and achieved, which is extraordinarily impressive, while also acknowledging the risks and challenges and the loss of four of our soldiers and three of our F-15s.

RFE/RL: US officials have described the strategy as creating an opening for Iran and allowing the Iranian people to decide their future. Let me turn to succession: What does the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei mean? How does his removal in a decapitation strike alter the internal balance of power within the Islamic republic?Petraeus: The truth is, we do not yet know, and we will not have the answer until we know who the replacement will be. Supposedly there was a succession plan, but it will actually be pursued according to the constitution, which, as you know, calls for an interim council of the president, the senior judicial official, and a cleric, and then ultimately the Assembly of Experts will convene and select the new supreme leader.Until we know the new supreme leader and whether or not he is a pragmatist or another hardcore ideologue like the two predecessors, it is difficult to assess.What I would note is that it is not just the supreme leader who has been killed; it is dozens of other significant regime figures — the equivalent, if you will, of the secretary of defense, the........

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