Donald Trump said on Thursday in an interview with Axios that he personally needs to be involved in selecting the next leader of Iran, indicating that the son of the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is not acceptable to him.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said in the interview with Axios.
“I have to be involved in the appointment, just like was the case with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump emphasized, as reported by Novi list.
Delcy Rodríguez is the transitional president of Venezuela after U.S. forces arrested President Nicolás Maduro.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, who had ruled the country since 1989, was killed in an attack on Saturday at the beginning of the Israeli-American offensive.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among the candidates to succeed him. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the Islamic Republic.
For this position, traditionally reserved for a religious figure, the name of Hassan Khomeini — the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — has also been mentioned.
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