Trump Acknowledges ‘Very Big Hurdle’ for Iranian Uprising as Regional Violence Surges in West Bank and Europe

Donald Trump tempers calls for an Iranian uprising as violence surges with a Rotterdam synagogue bombing and severe settler attacks in the West Bank.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 13, 2026, 12:17 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Times of Israel, El País, and the Atlantic Council.

The Strategic Recalibration of Regime Change

President Donald Trump has introduced a note of strategic caution into his rhetoric regarding the future of Iran, acknowledging that a popular uprising to topple the remaining leadership is a "very big hurdle." Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the US administration has explicitly urged the Iranian people to "take back their country." However, during a recent briefing, Trump noted that while the regime’s infrastructure has been decimated, the transition to a new government will not happen "immediately." This shift in tone reflects growing intelligence concerns regarding the resilience of the Revolutionary Guard’s remaining factions and the lack of a unified opposition leadership inside the country.

Allegations of a Disfigured Leadership in Tehran

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has further fueled reports of a command crisis in Tehran by claiming that the new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was "wounded and likely disfigured" during the initial strikes. Hegseth pointed to the regime's reliance on written statements rather than video broadcasts as evidence that the "not-so-supreme leader" is physically incapacitated. The Defense Secretary taunted the Iranian hierarchy, questioning "who's in charge" while confirming that US bomber sorties have reached a peak intensity. The Pentagon maintains that this sustained pressure is designed to maximize the coalition's advantage before any potential internal rebellion can take root.

Escalating Settler Violence in the West Bank

The regional conflict has coincided with a sharp increase in violence across the occupied West Bank, where several Palestinians were severely injured in a string of settler attacks on Thursday night and Friday. Residents of Khirbet Humsa reported that approximately thirty armed settlers assaulted the community, wounding at least four locals who required hospitalization in Nablus. According to witness testimonies, the attackers used clubs and handcuffed over a dozen men before stealing hundreds of head of livestock. Despite the severity of the injuries, there have been no immediate reports of arrests, drawing sharp condemnation from local rights groups who accuse the military of failing to intervene.