Trump Planning To Use Leadership Change Operation In Venezuela As 'Template' For Iran, Fox News Journalist Claims

President Donald Trump is planning to use the leadership change operation that took place in Venezuela earlier this year as a "template" in Iran as Washington looks to achieve regime change in the Middle Eastern country, according to a Fox News Journalist.

"Going in they had some sense of the ground of what was coming next," Bret Baier said while detailing a phone conversation he had with Trump. The administration managed to capture Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. He was replaced by then-Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who ever since has been willing to cooperate with the Trump administration and enacted several reforms to the country's economy and political scenario.

Baier went on to say that Trump is "very pleased with how things are going" and believes a figure will rise to topple the regime from within the country.

Trump did not elaborate further, but highlighted that strikes have killed dozens of top regime leaders. "That was going to take four weeks, we thought, to get rid of the Iranian leadership"

Trump said in another interview that the operation was "ahead of schedule." Asked about the outcome he expected, he said that "there are many outcomes that are good. Number one is decapitating them, getting rid of their whole group of killers and thugs. And there are many, many outcomes. We could do the short version or the longer version."

He went on to say that there are Iranian officials who want to talk with his administration and some are in fact doing it. He didn't provide names or described what talks are about.

When announcing the strikes on Saturday morning, Trump accused Iran of conducting "mass terror" since the 1979 revolution, adding that "we're not going to put up with it any longer."

"We're going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. We're going to annihilate their navy, we're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces," Trump said in a passage of his speech. "We will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon," he added.

Elsewhere in the speech, Trump encouraged the people of Iran to topple the regime once the bombing ends. "When we are finished, take over your government, it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations." The Iranian regime confirmed on Saturday that strikes had killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Elsewhere, he reportedly warned that the U.S. will escalate attacks soon. Speaking on CNN, network journalist Jake Tapper said he spoke with Trump about the ongoing operation. When mentioned to him that the situation was "not safe," the president noted that it would deteriorate.

"It is going to get even less safe. We haven't even started to hit them hard. The big wave hasn't happened yet. The big one is coming soon," Trump said, according to Tapper.