The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said this Thursday (5) that Washington must participate in the choice of Iran’s next leader, after the elimination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the military attack carried out by the Americans with Israel against Tehran on Saturday (28).
To the agency ReutersTrump stated that the United States “will have to choose this person together with Iran”, when commenting on Khamenei’s succession process. He added that the objective of this initiative is to prevent a new leader from adopting the same strategic guidelines as the previous ayatollah, which, in his assessment, could lead to a new confrontation in the future.
To the portal Axiosthe president rejected the possible rise of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the dead leader and considered one of the favorites for succession, to the post of supreme leader.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he declared.
Trump drew a parallel between the cases of Iran and Venezuela, mentioning the replacement of dictator Nicolás Maduro by the regime’s then vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, after the military operation conducted by the United States in January. The Republican stated that he wants to participate in the process of defining the new Iranian leadership “so that we don’t have to do this again [ataques como o de sábado] every five years.”
Asked about the possibility of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi joining the process to lead post-war Iran, Trump replied that “everyone is in the game” and that it is still too early to make any decisions. Statements from Iranian officials indicate that an announcement regarding the country’s new supreme leader could take place in the coming days.
