Trump: The New Leader of Iran Will Not Last Long If We Do Not Approve Him

SadaNews - As Iran is approaching the announcement of the next supreme leader, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized today, Sunday, that the new leader "will not last long" if Washington does not approve him first.

Trump told ABC News: "He will need our approval. If he doesn't get it, he won't last long," adding: "We want to ensure we don't have to go back every 10 years, in the absence of a president like me who does not do that."

He pointed out that "there are people from the old regime qualified to succeed Ali Khamenei," who was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attacks on February 28.

"Just a Paper Tiger"

Furthermore, he accused Iran of "planning to dominate the Middle East," suggesting that he prevented it from doing so.

He stated: "They are just a paper tiger. They weren't like this a week ago, believe me. They were about to attack. Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East and take control of it."

Trump did not rule out sending special forces to seize Iranian enriched uranium, clarifying that "everything is on the table. Everything."

When asked about a timeline for the end of the war with Iran, he replied: "I don't know. I never expect it. All I can say is we are ahead of schedule, whether in terms of effectiveness or time."

This comes as Iran announced earlier today that it has reached a decision on a successor to Khamenei, who has held the position since 1989, amid ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes against it.

However, the name of the person chosen by the Iranian Assembly of Experts to succeed Khamenei has not yet been announced.

In contrast, the Israeli army threatened that it would continue to pursue any successor to Khamenei. It stated in a statement that its forces "will pursue anyone seeking to appoint a successor to the Iranian leader."

Trump had previously hinted that the war with Iran might not end until the country has no effective military or remaining leadership in power.

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