President Trump did a phone interview with Axios today and suggested that he wanted to be involved with the selection of Iran’a new Supreme Leader, in order to guarantee that Iran doesn’t pursue nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and terrorism.
Here’s what he said:
President Trump told Axios in an interview Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader — just as he was in Venezuela.
Trump revealed this exclusively in an eight-minute phone call — his second conversation with us to explain his war planning.
Trump acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is the most likely successor — while making clear he finds that outcome unacceptable.
For several days, the Iranian regime has postponed the announcement of the new supreme leader. But statements by Iranian politicians on Thursday suggested an announcement could be imminent.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump said.
He added that he refuses to accept a new Iranian leader who would continue Khamenei’s policies, which he said would force the U.S. back to war “in five years.”
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments represent an extraordinary claim of American power over Iran’s political future, further muddying the objectives of the massive U.S. military campaign he launched on Saturday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other U.S. officials have denied that the goal of the operation is “regime change,” focusing instead on degrading Iran’s missile capabilities, nuclear program and Navy.
Asked Tuesday who could replace Khamenei, Trump told reporters at the White House: “Most of the people we had in mind are dead.”
This strikes me as Trump really saying ‘I need to step in because they are screwing this up bigtime’, to put it nicely. And really, why wouldn’t he want to have say in this, especially if they are looking at Khamenei’s son. It’s laudable that Trump wants Iran to be a country of peace and harmony’ and not war and terror and he’s going to do everything in his power to make that happen.