The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has said Iran’s next supreme leader would not remain in power for long without approval from Washington.
Trump made the remark during an interview with ABC News on Sunday, amid heightened tensions following the recent conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us. If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” Trump said.
His comments came as Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of Iran, rejected the claim, insisting that the Iranian people alone would determine who succeeds the country’s supreme leader.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Araghchi said no foreign country would be allowed to interfere in Iran’s domestic affairs and demanded that Trump apologise for initiating the ongoing conflict.
“We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader,” he said.
Trump had earlier suggested that the United States should play a role in selecting Iran’s next leader following the death of the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, during the early stages of the ongoing US-Israeli military offensive that began nine days ago.
The US president also ruled out the possibility of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeding his father.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the clerical body responsible for choosing the next supreme leader has already voted and may soon announce a successor.
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