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United States President Donald Trump has said Iran’s next supreme leader may struggle to remain in power if the individual does not receive approval from the United States.
Trump made the remark during an interview with ABC News on Sunday amid ongoing discussions in Iran over the selection of a new supreme leader.
According to the U.S. president, Washington’s stance on Iran’s leadership would be influenced by concerns about regional stability and nuclear weapons.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us. If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long,” Trump said, adding that the United States wants to avoid repeated crises over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
He stressed that the U.S. does not want a situation where the international community would have to revisit the same security concerns in a few years.
“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,” he stated.
When asked whether he could support a candidate linked to the previous Iranian leadership, Trump said such a possibility was open if the individual proved to be a capable leader.
“There are numerous people that could qualify,” he added.
Trump also claimed that Iran had plans to expand its influence across the Middle East before tensions escalated in recent days.
“They are a paper tiger. They weren’t a paper tiger a week ago,” he said, alleging that Iran had been preparing to launch broader regional actions.
The U.S. president further indicated that Washington had not ruled out military options in addressing concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme, noting that all possibilities remain under consideration.
“Everything is on the table,” Trump said, including the potential deployment of special forces to secure Iran’s enriched uranium.
