Fox News' Bret Baier reveals Trump told him plan for Iran, pointed to Venezuela 'as a template'

WASHINGTON, DC: Fox News anchor Bret Baier said on Monday, March 2, that President Donald Trump shared details of his administration’s strategy toward Iran, drawing a comparison to the United States’ recent campaign in Venezuela.

Baier said in an interview that Trump had told him the White House "always had a plan" for dealing with Iran, based on the template provided by the US military's intervention in Venezuela. 

Baier quoted Trump as saying that the plan included expectations that “somebody on the ground in Iran…was going to rise up” against Iranian leadership.

Bret Baier reveals Trump's Iran plan and Venezuela template

"He said there is a plan," Baier said, adding that Trump pointed to Venezuela "as a template," suggesting the way the United States intervened there could inform US policy toward Tehran.

From late 2025 to early 2026, the US escalated pressure on Venezuela through military buildup, oil tanker seizures, and allegedly covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations.

Key actions included strikes in December 2025 against Tren de Aragua ports and a major raid on January 3 (Operation Absolute Resolve), capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on multiple charges.

US officials have said that they intend to oversee a transition period in Venezuela and have described plans for American involvement in the country’s oil sector as part of a broader “judicious transition” strategy.

Trump happy with rapid success of Iran strikes

Baier also quoted Trump as describing a timeline of "four weeks" that had been set for removing Iranian leadership, though he acknowledged that some leaders "would have been hiding," making the process more complicated.

Baier’s comments came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran after coordinated military strikes by US and Israeli forces targeted Iranian infrastructure and leadership figures.

Tehran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks against targets in the region, raising concerns of spillover and conflict that could draw in the entirety of the Middle East.

In his remarks to Baier, Trump said that intelligence enabled the United States to track Iranian leadership locations and that Iran’s potential succession plans included figures “even they don’t know,” according to Baier’s interpretation.

“I asked, ‘So what you’re saying is … there is somebody on the ground in Iran that is going to rise up?’” Baier said. “He said, ‘Yeah, I feel there is.’”

The president, as quoted by Baier, called the number of leaders taken out “deep,” adding that it was “amazing that we knew everything we knew,” suggesting confidence in the intelligence underpinning the operations.