Just days after deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump has threatened to carry out military action against other US foes.
Trump has not name-checked Iran, but Maduros capture in a US raid on January 3 has shaken Tehran, a close ally of the Venezuelan strongman.
Washington is unlikely to carry out a similar operation in Iran. But the brazen Venezuela attack has sent a clear signal to Tehran that the United States is willing to use force to remove its enemies, experts say.
Trump recentlywarnedIran that Washington was locked and loaded and ready to intervene if Tehran killed peaceful protesters during ongoing antiestablishment protests. Iranian security forces have so farkilledat least 19 protesters in a brutal state crackdown.
'Khamenei Himself Could Be Targeted'
Experts say the United States replicating its Venezuela operation in Iran and deposing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- who has been in power since 1989 -- is unlikely.
Habib Hosseinifard, a Germany-based political analyst, said Venezuela lies in the United States' strategic backyard, whereas Iran is located thousands of kilometers away in the Middle East. The Islamic republic also has greater military capabilities and a more entrenched political system, he said.
