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US President Donald Trump has said he needs to be involved in the selection of the next Iranian leader.
He said this to Axios, an American publication, on Thursday, five days after the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint strike by the US and Israel on his home in Tehran.
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According to Mr Trump, Iran was only “wasting its time” if it tried to appoint a successor without US involvement.
He also declared that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Mr Khamenei, who is considered a likely successor, was an unacceptable choice to him.
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He described the late Mr Khamenei’s son as a “lightweight,” while saying his “son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela,” he stated.
Mr Trump also stated that he would reject any new Iranian leader who would continue the policies of the previous leadership.
He said such a leader would risk another conflict with the US “in five years.”
President Trump had earlier said the worst outcome of the ongoing war would be for a leader who is equally as hard-line as the late Mr Khamenei to take over power.
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“I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. We don’t want that to happen. So, we’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people,” he said.
He also stated that Iranian officials whom the US had killed preferred the options of new leaders.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump’s statement comes amidst the ongoing war his country and Israel launched on Iran. Over 1,000 Iranians have been killed in the war. At least six American soldiers have been killed while Israel has confirmed 11 deaths from Iranian attacks.
