Trump warns Iran’s next supreme leader won’t survive without his backing
As Iran nears the selection of its next supreme leader, President Donald Trump said Sunday that the new leader “is not going to last long” without U.S. approval. Speaking to ABC News, Trump insisted that any successor must have Washington’s blessing to avoid future instability.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.” He added that his goal was to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities: “I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse, let them have a nuclear weapon.”
When asked whether he would approve someone with ties to the previous regime, Trump said he would consider it to ensure a “good leader” is chosen. “There are numerous people who could qualify,” he explained.
The president also framed the conflict with Iran as a broader defense of the Middle East, claiming Tehran had ambitions to dominate the region. “They are a paper tiger. They weren’t a paper tiger a week ago, I’ll tell you. And they were going to attack. Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East, to take over the entire Middle East,” he said.
Trump did not rule out deploying U.S. special forces to seize Iran’s enriched uranium. A senior administration official said last week that Iran could potentially produce weapons-grade uranium in 10 days or less, much of it stored at sites recently struck during Operation Midnight Hammer, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. The official suggested that if U.S. forces gained control of those sites, they could neutralize the stockpiles on-site.
Over the weekend, Trump met with the families of six U.S. soldiers killed in the war. Asked whether the dignified transfer of the fallen had given him pause, he replied, “No, not at all. The parents would be upset if I did that. Every one of them said to me, please sir, win this for my boy, and in one case a young woman, please, win this for my child.” He called the event “beautiful” and praised the courage and pride of the families despite their loss.
Pressed on the duration of the war, Trump declined to provide a precise timeline. “I don’t know. I never predict. All I can say is we are ahead of schedule both in terms of lethality and in terms of time,” he said, referencing his previous estimate that the conflict would last four to five weeks.
The president also downplayed rising gasoline prices, calling them a “little glitch,” and highlighted recent U.S. and Israeli military successes. “We sank 44 of their ships, which is their entire navy. We’ve knocked out their entire Air Force. We’ve knocked out all of their communications, telecommunications. Their anti-aircraft systems are gone. They have absolutely no defense. All they have is talk.”
Addressing potential criticism from his political base, Trump said the operation has strengthened support among his followers. “It’s more popular than ever. It’s a very MAGA thing what we’re doing … Because otherwise we won’t have a country either, we’ll be hit. And MAGA is all about saving America … I’m at the highest point I’ve ever been with MAGA.”
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