TAMPA, Fla. — President Donald Trump is warning Iran not to escalate attacks following a joint US-Israel military operation that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
US Central Command, headquartered in South Tampa and known as CENTCOM, confirmed it launched Operation Epic Fury at the direction of President Trump. The strike killed Khamenei, whom Trump called one of the most evil people in history, adding that Iranians can now take back their country.
Trump also said the decision to strike stops Iran from getting nuclear weapons, though the move clashes with his past criticism of the Iraq War.
Iran's Parliament Speaker responded by warning that the US and Israel will face "devastating blows."
Tampa Bay 28's Heather Leigh spoke with Joe Buccino, a former CENTCOM director and former US Army colonel who served the nation for 27 years, about the strikes. Buccino believes the attack is less about Iran's nuclear program and more about regime change.
When asked whether American troops could be deployed to Iran in the coming months, Buccino said:
"The Trump administration is not going to want to put troops inside Iran, but the problem is how do you affect regime change, and how do you put a new regime in place in a country that's as diverse ethnically as Iran without doing so? The question is, of course, what goes in its place? Inside of Iran, you've got Azeris, Kurds, Persians, Balochs, traditional Arab/Muslims, so how do you unify that country in solidarity with a new administration and new leadership in Tehran and how do you do that securely without putting troops in there? The answer is, I don't know. But I do not anticipate the administration is going to put American troops inside Iran at all."
When asked whether the situation would need to play out before next steps could be determined, Buccino said:
"Sure, if there's a strategy beyond toppling Tehran, nobody knows what it is. I do not think there is a strategy beyond that. But that's what I'd be concerned about."
Buccino believes this is a breaking point for Tehran. He expects the conflict to continue for the next one to three weeks and said the Middle East will likely look much different afterward.
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