Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voiced strong support Wednesday for Israel’s warning that any successor to Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could become a target if the regime continues its current course, calling such action “entirely appropriate” during a televised interview.
Speaking with CNN’s Kate Bolduan on CNN News Central, Fetterman made clear that he supports Israel maintaining pressure on Iran’s leadership following the dramatic U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Khamenei over the weekend.
“Just keep killing them until they’re gone,” Fetterman said during the interview.
He expanded on the remark by arguing that continued military pressure could push Iran’s leadership toward a different direction.
“I absolutely support that,” Fetterman said. “I think that’s entirely appropriate until hopefully they’ll pick someone that realizes that they need to live and coexist in peace in the region and stop trying to destroy Israel and to stabilize the region.”
Khamenei, who served as Iran’s supreme leader for more than three decades, was killed early Saturday morning during joint U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting his compound along with Tehran’s nuclear program.
The operation marked a dramatic escalation in the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and it immediately raised questions about who would replace the longtime Iranian leader.
According to some international media reports, Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country’s next supreme leader on Tuesday. However, Iranian state media has not confirmed those reports.
In a dramatic development, an Israeli airstrike reportedly struck the building where the Assembly of Experts was meeting to vote on Khamenei’s successor.
Israeli officials have made clear that any new leader emerging from the current regime could face the same fate as Khamenei if Iran continues its policies toward Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning Wednesday, declaring that any leader chosen by the regime would be considered a legitimate target.
“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides,” Katz wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
Katz described the effort as a central part of the ongoing military operation aimed at weakening Iran’s leadership and military capabilities.
“It is an integral part of the objectives,” he said.
Katz also emphasized that Israel intends to continue working alongside the United States as the operation continues.
“We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to crush the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow it and replace it,” Katz wrote.
Israel has made clear that it is seeking regime change in Iran as part of its broader strategy in the conflict.
However, U.S. officials have taken a somewhat different tone when describing Washington’s objectives.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have framed the mission primarily as an effort to eliminate nuclear and missile threats posed by Iran.
Their comments contrast with statements from President Donald Trump, who has publicly encouraged the Iranian people to take control of their government.
Trump addressed the issue of Iran’s future leadership on Tuesday while speaking with reporters, acknowledging uncertainty about who could emerge as the country’s next leader.
He noted that many potential successors had been killed during the ongoing conflict.
“Most of the people” he had in mind to lead Iran next were dead, Trump said.
The president also cautioned that the worst possible outcome would be if a new leader emerged who proved to be just as extreme as Khamenei.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” Trump said.
“That could happen, we don’t want that to happen, it would probably be the worst.”
[READ MORE: GOP Backs Trump’s Authority on Iran Strikes as War Powers Resolution Faces Uphill Battle]
