United States President Donald Trump has said Iran’s next supreme leader may struggle to remain in power without the approval of the United States.
Speaking during an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Trump claimed that any successor to Iran’s leadership would need Washington’s backing to remain in office.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us. If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” Trump said.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran following the ongoing conflict that began days earlier.
However, Iran swiftly rejected the comment. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, insisted that the choice of the country’s next leader lies solely with the Iranian people.
In an interview on Meet the Press on NBC News, Araghchi said Iran would not allow foreign interference in its internal political affairs.
“We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader,” he said, while also calling on Trump to apologise for initiating the war against Iran.
Trump had earlier suggested that he should play a role in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader after the reported death of Ali Khamenei during the early phase of the joint U.S.–Israeli military operations against Iran.
The U.S. president also dismissed the possibility that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, could succeed his father.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Iranian clerical body responsible for choosing a new supreme leader is currently deliberating and is expected to announce a successor soon.