US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader would not remain in power without approval from Washington, Anadolu reports.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said any new Iranian leader would need US sign-off or would “not going to last long.”
He framed the remarks in strategic terms, saying he did not want the United States to be forced into another conflict with Iran in the future.
“I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Iranian officials rejected the comments. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier Sunday that selecting the country’s next leader was “only the business of the Iranian people,” rejecting any foreign interference.
Senior cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda said the Assembly of Experts had already voted on a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but did not disclose a name.
Trump had previously told Axios he expected to be personally involved in the selection process, dismissing reported frontrunner Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain supreme leader, as “a lightweight.”
Regional tensions escalated last week when the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that entered its ninth day Sunday and has reportedly killed more than 1,200 people.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries that host US military assets.
READ: Iran to intensify attacks against Israel, US as of tonight, military official says
