The president warned that the US was likely to return to war within five years without a favourable leader in Iran

US President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted he should have a role in picking Iran’s next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable.

“Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy,” Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the US ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro.

Trump told the news outlet that the US would be likely to return to war within five years without a favourable leader in Iran.

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

The US president repeated his comments in a separate interview on Thursday. “We want ⁠to ⁠be involved in the process ‌of choosing the person who is going to ‌lead ‌Iran into the future,” ‌he told Reuters.

“We don’t have to ⁠go back every five years and ⁠do this again and again … Somebody that’s going to ‌be great ‌for the people, great for the country.”

Source: News - South China Morning Post