As Iran moves closer to naming a new supreme leader, Donald Trump is making clear he expects a say in who takes power.
According to the New York Post, the president issued a blunt warning Sunday, saying the next leader of Iran will struggle to remain in power without approval from Washington.
āHeās going to have to get approval from US,ā Trump told ABC News. āIf he doesnāt get approval from US, heās not going to last long.ā
The remarks come as Iranās clerical body responsible for choosing the countryās supreme leader, the Assembly of Experts, is believed to have selected a successor to Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei was killed during the opening day of Operation Epic Fury, following an Israeli airstrike in Tehran.
Trump said his goal is to ensure the region does not face repeated crises tied to Iranās leadership or nuclear ambitions.
āWe want to make sure that we donāt have to go back every 10 years, when you donāt have a president like me thatās not going to do it,ā he said.
āI donāt 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.ā
While the president indicated he might consider supporting a figure linked to Iranās existing leadership structure, he has been sharply critical of one potential candidate.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain leader, calling him āunacceptableā and āa lightweight.ā
Mojtaba, 56, has been widely discussed as a possible successor. He was once described in U.S. diplomatic cables as āthe power behind the robesā and has faced accusations of interfering in elections to help ensure conservative allies of his father gained power.
Reports have also suggested that Mojtaba may have been injured during early strikes in the conflict due to his close ties with Iranās Revolutionary Guards.
Despite those reports, the Iranian leadership has not publicly confirmed the identity of the next supreme leader as the country navigates the aftermath of Khameneiās death and the escalating regional conflict.