Trump Leaves No Doubt U.S. Will Have A Say In Who Leads Iran Next

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would be “involved” in selecting the next leader of Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike. 

In an interview with Axios, Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader and widely seen as a likely successor, would be “unacceptable.”  

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump told Axios on Thursday. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”

Trump said that if Iran selects a hardliner like Mojtaba Khamenei, the United States could be back at war with Iran “in five years.”

On Friday, Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from the Iranian regime, saying that the United States and its allies would work to rebuild Iran economically after the selection of an “acceptable” and “great” leader.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),” Trump said.

Asked by the New York Times about Trump’s comments about being involved in the process to find a new leader, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president wants U.S. input to help avoid repeated conflict.  

“The president stated: ‘We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again,” she said. “Somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country.’”

In a separate interview with NBC, Trump said he has a few names in mind for possible leaders and insisted the U.S. military was being careful to ensure those individuals were not killed during the strikes. 

“We want to go in and clean out everything,” Trump said. “We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job.” 

Trump acknowledged he had joked about Iranian officials asking him who should be their next leader, a remark he said was “only being a little sarcastic.”

Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have repeatedly said the United States military operation is not intended as a nation-building or “regime change war” and is focused on taking out Iranian military capabilities rather than governing the country.

Trump also referenced American involvement in Venezuela’s leadership transition, saying he played a role in supporting Delcy Rodriguez after U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro.