President Donald Trump said in a interview with Axios on Thursday that he intends to take part personally in choosing Iran’s next leader—just as, he said, he had previously done in Venezuela.
The remarks came during an eight-minute phone call—his second interview in which Trump explained to the outlet his plans within the framework of the ongoing war.
According to him, the most likely successor to the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei is widely considered to be his son Mojtaba Khamenei, although Trump said such an outcome would be unacceptable. For several days Iranian authorities have postponed announcing the new supreme leader, though statements by Iranian politicians on Thursday suggest that a decision could be announced soon.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a weak figure. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump said.
He added that he would not accept the emergence of a new Iranian leader who continued Khamenei’s political course, which, he said, would inevitably lead to another war with the United States “within five years.” “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he said.
The statements reflect an extraordinarily expansive view of American influence over Iran’s political future and add to uncertainty surrounding the objectives of the large-scale U.S. military campaign launched by Trump on Saturday.
After the killing of Ali Khamenei, his 56-year-old son Mojtaba is regarded as one of the leading contenders for the position of supreme leader, although no official decision has yet been announced.
Mojtaba Khamenei is a conservative cleric closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has never held a government post.
On Tuesday Israel struck a building in Qom housing the religious body responsible for selecting Iran’s next supreme leader—reportedly in an attempt to disrupt the vote-counting process.
Trump also drew a parallel with events in Venezuela, where, he said, he intervened in the political process after U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro in January and power passed to Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez.
In his annual address to Congress he described Venezuela as “our new friend and partner” and said that after the operation against Maduro the United States obtained more than 80 million barrels of oil. On Wednesday Trump again praised Rodriguez, saying that “the oil is starting to flow,” after U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited Caracas and Venezuelan authorities announced plans to reform mining legislation.