President Donald Trump has stated he must be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader, drawing a parallel to the situation in Venezuela. He similarly dismissed the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an unacceptable choice. The comments came during a phone conversation with Axios.
The President acknowledged that 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei is the most likely successor to his father. However, he indicated he would view that outcome as entirely unacceptable.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring peace and harmony to Iran,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. Does not want someone who would continue the same policies in Iran, as that would draw the United States into war within five years.
“I have to be involved in the election, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump added, referencing American intervention in Venezuela, where Vice President Delcy Rodríguez took power after U.S. Forces removed President Nicolás Maduro from the country in January. Trump subsequently described Venezuela as “our new friend and partner” in a traditional State of the Union address, stating that the U.S. Had received over 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela since Maduro’s removal.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been officially named as his father’s successor, but is widely considered a frontrunner. He does not hold a high-ranking clerical position, has no official political role, and has rarely appeared in public, yet analysts say he is a powerful figure within the Iranian regime and is popular with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
On Tuesday, Israel reportedly bombed a building in the Iranian city of Qom housing the Council of Guardians, the body responsible for selecting the next Supreme Leader, in an attempt to halt the vote count, Axios reported.
