Washington, March 9 (SANA) U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that any new leader in Iran would need Washington’s approval to remain in power, warning that a successor not supported by the United States “will not last long.”
Speaking to ABC News while traveling to Miami, Trump said a future Iranian leader would have to secure U.S. backing to avoid further conflict with Washington.
“The new leader in Iran will have to obtain our approval; otherwise, he will not last long,” Trump said, adding that such an approach could help prevent future military confrontations.
His remarks come amid heightened tensions in the region following a joint U.S.–Israeli military operation announced on Feb. 28 that targeted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders.
The strikes also hit Iranian infrastructure and strategic facilities as Washington called on Tehran to accept what it described as “unconditional surrender” and urged changes to Iran’s governing structure.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts announced late Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei had been appointed the country’s new Supreme Leader, succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the U.S.–Israeli attack on Feb. 28.
The Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body, is constitutionally responsible for selecting Iran’s supreme leader.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has had only two supreme leaders: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, followed by Ali Khamenei, who assumed the role in 1989.
The recent strikes killed several senior Iranian political and military figures, creating what analysts describe as a major leadership vacuum within the country.
N.J
