Venezuela opposition leader says interim president in Iran's thrall

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said his Make America Great Again political movement was defined by dramatic and 'precision' actions like the surprise US attack on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

"Venezuela was so amazing. But I equate that to other things, because we can do other things like that. It doesn't always have to be a Minnesota where everything is corrupt," Trump told reporters in the White House in a discussion about rural health care as tensions fester with the Democratic-run state of Minnesota.

"Everybody likes MAGA. So we want to make this precision just like a Venezuela, just like the attack on Iran nuclear weapons which wiped that out, just like all of the other things we do with precision."

"The only way you can equalize the playing field is to help them have a better chance by weakening the regime's apparatus of repression, and these are mostly paramilitary institutions such as the IRGC," exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said in a news conference in Washington DC.

"IRGC has been the main instrument of the regime's repression at home and terror abroad. So clearly, any strike on those entities will facilitate our task," he said.

"I'm calling for a surgical strike on those targets. And I think it should be quite obvious to any of you, how do you weaken the regime's first and foremost means of instituting terror at home or terrorism abroad in all ties? The targets are quite obvious. You're not going to hit a factory or a school or a hospital. Clearly, it's obvious what the targets should be, and the regime knows it."

Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi said US President Donald Trump is "a man of action" and he is confident he will "ultimately stand with the Iranian people."

"Unlike his predecessors that threw us under the bus one time, this President is not about to do the same thing and that's very encouraging and empowering," he told reporters.

"President Trump is a man of his word. How many days it might take? Who knows? Hopefully sooner than later. The quicker the action happens, the more lives can be saved, and the sooner we can see the regimes collapse," he said.

"So timing is, of course, important, and I would still believe in the President's commitment that help is on the way."

"The Iranian people are taking decisive actions on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully," Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi said in a news conference in Washington DC.

He called on the world to do six things: Degrade the Islamic Republic's repressive capacity, deliver and sustain maximum economic pressure, break through the Islamic Republic's information blockade, expel its diplomats, demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, and prepare for a democratic transition in Iran by committing to recognize a legitimate transitional government when the moment comes.

He said the Iranian people "have been treated in the worst possible way, and the only hope they have is that their fight for freedom, their sacrifices will be less loss of life based on your action to expedite this regime's collapse."

"But let me be clear, with or without the world's help, the regime will fall," he stressed.

"This does not require putting boots on the ground. The Iranian people boots are already underground."

Finnish lawmaker Mika Aaltola called on European governments to take what he described as immediate and tougher action against Iran’s leadership, including recalling ambassadors, cutting trade and designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

“Europe must stop legitimizing Iran’s murderous regime,” Aaltola, a member of the European Parliament, wrote on X.

He urged EU countries impose sanctions on Iran’s clerical elite and invite exiled figure Reza Pahlavi to Brussels.