Former U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he must be personally involved in the process of selecting Iran’s next supreme leader, stating this during an interview with Axios, Baltimore Chronicle. Trump compared his prospective engagement in Iran’s leadership transition to his intervention in Venezuela, where U.S. forces removed President Nicolás Maduro and installed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who then agreed to cooperate with American authorities.
Trump identified Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as the most likely candidate to succeed his father but categorically rejected him as an acceptable choice. “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a weak figure. […] We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said. He further emphasized that he would not recognize a new Iranian leader who continues the policies of the Khamenei administration, warning that such a scenario could force the U.S. back into conflict within five years.
Mojtaba Khamenei has been widely cited in media reports as a leading contender for the role of supreme leader. Analysts note that he holds considerable influence within Iran’s administrative structures and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the country’s most powerful military body. Some outlets have reported that under pressure from the IRGC, the Assembly of Experts in Iran has already selected Mojtaba as the next supreme leader, though no official announcement has yet been made.
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