Trump demands role in choosing next Iran leader, tells Axios Khamenei’s son is ‘unacceptable’
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
President Donald Trump says the US wants a leader in Iran who will bring harmony and peace.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- US President Trump told Axios he wants to pick Iran's next leader, rejecting Mojtaba Khamenei.
- Iranian sources told Reuters Mojtaba Khamenei survived US and Israeli airstrikes that killed his father.
- Mojtaba, a hardline cleric with Revolutionary Guards ties, is influential and seen as a possible successor.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on March 5 insisted he should have a role in picking Iran’s next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable.
“Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy,” Mr Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him after the US ousted her boss, Mr Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Trump told the news outlet that the United States would likely return to war within five years without a favourable leader in Iran.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Mr Trump was quoted saying by the news outlet.
It was unclear in what way Mr Trump would be able to take a role in the Islamic republic’s selection of a new supreme leader, a decision made by an assembly of senior Shi’ite Muslim clerics mostly staunchly opposed to the US.
Mr Trump was raised a Presbyterian.
But his remarks imply a willingness to work with someone from within the Islamic republic rather than seek to topple the government, which has been a sworn enemy of the US since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.
The late shah’s son, Mr Reza Pahlavi, has proposed that he return as a transitional figure before Iran drafts a new constitution as a secular democracy. Mr Pahlavi earlier on March 5 said that any new supreme leader within the Islamic republic would be illegitimate.
Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran since 1989 with hardline policies that included repression at home and confrontation with neighbouring countries, was killed on Feb 28
A 2019 photo showing Mr Mojtaba Khamenei (centre), the son of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
PHOTO: MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL VIA REUTERS
His son, Mr Mojtaba Khamenei, is considered one of the contenders
In Venezuela, Mr Trump ordered a deadly Jan 3 attack in which US forces snatched Mr Maduro,
Rather than backing the opposition long championed by the US, Mr Trump has said he has been pleased by Ms Rodriguez, who was Mr Maduro’s vice-president but has cooperated on key US demands, notably on benefiting oil companies.
She is doing so under threats from Mr Trump
