Trump wants to decide who will be Iran's new supreme leader: "I have to be involved"

BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump argued on Thursday that he believes the US should have a say in the selection of Iran's next supreme leader, after Ali Khamenei dies in bombing on Saturday in TehranDuring the first day of the US-Israeli offensive against the Persian country, he said, "I have to be involved, like with Delcy (Rodríguez) in Venezuela." He made these remarks in an interview with the US media outlet.Axios.

Trump acknowledged that Mukhtaba Khamenei, son of the assassinated supreme leader, is one of the most likely candidates, making it clear that "it would not be acceptable." "They're wasting their time. Khamenei's son is nobody. I have to be involved," he declared. He added, "We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran." In another interview with Reuters, he reiterated the same message: "We want to participate in the process of choosing the person who will lead Iran into the future... We don't want to have to come back every five years and do this over and over again... (We want) someone who is great for the people, great for the country."

Mukhtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is one of the names that has been mentioned by some media outlets as a possible successor. The regime body in charge of choosing the new supreme leader said the process would be quick, and some reports suggest that the announcement could be made soon. Mujtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric, has survived attacks by Israel and the US, although some of his family have died: in addition to his father, his mother, his wife, and one of his sisters also perished.

Trump's statements represent the clearest assertion yet that the president intends to seize political power in Iran, as he did in Venezuela when the military captured Nicolás Maduro. However, this further muddies the waters regarding US objectives in this war, which they initially justified by arguing that the intention was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. "This is not a regime change war," US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on Monday.

Support for the Kurds

Trump has also encouraged Kurdish dissidents to join the offensive to overthrow the Iranian regime. "I think it's wonderful that they want to do it, I would be totally in favor," he told Reuters. When asked if the US would provide or had offered air cover for Kurdish groups to cross the border from Iraq, he replied, "I can't tell you." According to several reports published in recent days, Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States about whether and how to attack Iranian security forces in the western part of the country. And in Iraqi Kurdistan, several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have begun mobilizing fighters near the border. Several sources have explained to CNN that the CIA has been working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran. For its part, the US has said it does not plan to send troops to Iran "at this time," although it has not completely ruled out the option, and some media outlets have reported that a limited ground invasion is possible.

From Tehran, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, responded: "Some US officials have stated that they intend to enter Iranian territory with several thousand troops. The brave sons of Imam Khoman and corrupt American Imam Khomani are killing and capturing thousands of people," he wrote in X.