World
I must be involved in choosing Iran’s next Supreme Leader – Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he should play a role in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader following the killing of Ali Khamenei, while rejecting the possibility of his son taking over the position.
Trump, speaking in an interview with Axios, described Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as “a lightweight” and said he would not accept him as Iran’s next leader.
“Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy,” Trump said, referring to Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela.
He drew a comparison with the political situation in Venezuela, where Rodríguez assumed power after the United States captured former president Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. military operation.
Trump warned that if Iran ends up with a leader who continues Khamenei’s policies, the United States could return to war within five years.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he said.
It remains unclear how the United States could influence Iran’s leadership selection, which is traditionally determined by the country’s Assembly of Experts, a body of senior Shiite clerics that appoints the supreme leader.
Trump’s remarks, however, suggest he may prefer working with a new figure within Iran rather than pushing for a complete overthrow of the government, which has been a major adversary of the United States since the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Meanwhile, the son of the late Iranian shah, Reza Pahlavi, has proposed returning as a transitional figure while Iran drafts a new constitution that would transform the country into a secular democracy.
Pahlavi earlier said any new supreme leader chosen within the current Iranian system would be illegitimate.
Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran since 1989 and was known for hardline policies that included repression at home and confrontation with regional rivals, was killed in an Israeli strike after Israel and the United States launched a joint military campaign against Iran.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is widely considered one of the leading contenders to succeed him, though no official announcement has been made.
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