VENEZUELA SEEN AS TEMPLATE

GULF ARAB MONARCHIES HAVE WARNED TRUMP AGAINST ATTACKING IRAN

- STORY: AFP

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks next to President Donald Trump at the White House on Jan 29.

Weeks after toppling Venezuela's leader, US President Donald Trump is turning to a similar playbook on Iran, sending what he calls an “armada” near its shores and warning an unpopular government.

Mr Trump has been emboldened on multiple fronts by the tactical success in Venezuela, but Iran presents far more complexities.

After US commandos snatched Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Mr Trump has leaned on his successor, vice president Delcy Rodriguez, threatening new attacks if she does not comply with his wishes, starting with access to the country's oil.

As with Mr Maduro, a core principle of Tehran's clerical leadership is resistance to the United States — but there are fewer signs of cracks in the state.

The Islamic republic relies on the elite Revolutionary Guards, who in recent weeks have ruthlessly put down mass protests, killing thousands.

The United States seized Mr Maduro and his wife to face drug trafficking charges in New York (which they deny) after intermediaries for years quietly suggested a comfortable exile.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, has not left the country since 1989.

A Shiite cleric, he lives frugally and was brought up in a religious tradition that reveres martyrdom.