President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader will not remain in power for long unless the United States approves the selection, issuing the warning as Iran moves closer to choosing a successor to its current leadership.
Speaking in an interview with ABC News, Trump said the individual chosen to lead Iran would not be able to maintain authority without Washington’s acceptance.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” the president told ABC News. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”
Trump said his concern is preventing a situation in which the international community repeatedly faces the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
“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.”
When asked whether he would consider approving a leader who previously had ties to Iran’s existing regime, Trump indicated he would be open to the idea if the candidate proved capable of governing responsibly.
“I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would. There are numerous people that could qualify.”
Trump also argued that Iran had been preparing to dominate the broader region before recent military developments changed the situation.
“They are a paper tiger. They weren’t a paper tiger a week ago, I’ll tell you. And they were going to attack,” he said. “Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East, to take over the entire Middle East.”
Trump said he has not ruled out the possibility of deploying American special forces to secure Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium.
“Everything is on the table. Everything.”
A senior administration official said last week that Iran has already enriched enough uranium to reach weapons-grade levels within about ten days.
According to the official, large quantities of that material are believed to be stored at nuclear facilities that were targeted during Operation Midnight Hammer, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.
“In theory, if we had physical control of that territory, if we had physical control of those places where it’s located, we could send our people in and dilute it on premise,” the official said.
Over the weekend, Trump also met with the families of six U.S. service members who were killed. When asked whether attending the dignified transfers caused him to reconsider the conflict, Trump said it did not.
“No, not at all,” he said. “The parents would be upset if I did that. The parents said to me, every one of them, please sir, win this for my boy, and in one case a young woman, as you know. Please, win this for my child.”
Reflecting on the meeting with the families, Trump described the experience as emotional but meaningful.
“It was a beautiful event. It was a beautiful, beautiful event, where I met the parents. They were devastated but proud.”
Asked about how long the conflict might continue, Trump declined to offer a specific timetable.
“I don’t know. I never predict. All I can say is we are ahead of schedule both in terms of lethality and in terms of time,” he said.
Just days earlier, Trump had suggested the conflict could conclude within four to five weeks.
During the interview, the president also brushed aside concerns about rising gasoline prices, describing the increase as temporary.
“I think it’s fine. It’s a little glitch. We had to take this detour,” he said. “I knew exactly what was going to happen with the detour. But the nice part is we sank 44 of their ships which is their entire navy. We’ve knocked out their entire AirForce. We’ve knocked out all of their communications, telecommunications. Their anti-aircraft systems are gone. They have absolutely no defense. All they have is talk.”
Although some longtime supporters have questioned aspects of the operation, Trump said he has not faced meaningful opposition from his political base.
“It’s more popular than ever. It’s a very MAGA thing what we’re doing. A very very MAGA thing,” he said. “Because otherwise we won’t have a country either, we’ll be hit. And MAGA is all about saving America … I’m at the highest point I’ve ever been with MAGA.”
{Matzav.com}
