U.S. President Donald Trump on the 5th (local time) said he should be involved in the succession plan for Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, who was reported to have been killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike.
In a phone interview published that day with the U.S. online outlet Axios, Trump said, "I should be involved in that appointment, like I did with Delsy in Venezuela."
The "Delsy" Trump mentioned is interpreted as referring to Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez. Reports added that Rodríguez was vice president when President Nicolás Maduro was ousted by U.S. forces.
Trump praised interim President Rodríguez's oil production increase and release of political prisoners, adding, "Venezuela has been truly remarkable." He also said U.S.-Venezuela relations are "in great shape," prompting interpretations that he effectively recognized Rodríguez as the figure to lead the transitional government.
As talk mounted that the Iranian regime could name Khamenei's second son, Mojtaba, as successor, Trump said, "They are wasting their time," adding, "Khamenei's son is a lightweight."
Trump emphasized, "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran." He warned that if Iran installs a leader who follows Khamenei's line, the United States would have no choice but to go to war against Iran "within five years."
In an interview with the U.S. political outlet Politico, Trump also claimed of Mojtaba, "The reason the father didn't pass the position to his son is because he is regarded as incompetent." He added, "We will work with the Iranian people and the regime to ensure that someone who can build Iran well without nuclear weapons comes to that position."
Earlier, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 3rd, citing Iranian officials and others, that the constitutional body that selects the supreme leader had deliberated a plan to choose Mojtaba as successor. Mojtaba, 56 this year, has been discussed as a "power behind the scenes" and is considered a hard-liner with significant influence within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the intelligence apparatus.
The previous day, Trump said regarding Iran's next leadership, "Everyone who looks like they want to be the leader ends up dying." On the 3rd, he also said, "It seems like someone inside (Iran) would be more suitable. If there is someone currently in Iran who is popular. We also have more moderate figures."
Taken together, Trump's remarks suggest that if a hard-liner like Mojtaba takes power and sticks to an anti-U.S. course and pursuit of nuclear weapons, the United States could repeat "decapitation operations," while urging the emergence of a pro-U.S. moderate leader.
Trump also told Reuters regarding the possibility of a Kurdish attack on Iran, "I think it's a great thing for them to do that," adding he would be "all for it." As for whether the United States would provide air support or had made related proposals for a Kurdish attack, he said, "I can't say that."
Some also say that if Kurds, who are scattered across Iran, Iraq, Türkiye and Syria, get involved, a war with Iran could spread across the Middle East.
In the Politico interview, Trump said, "The United States supplies (its forces) with weapons without limit," while claiming, "Iran has no navy and no air force. Its aerial surveillance capability has been wiped out. Its radars have all been destroyed and its military has been devastated. All they have left is courage."
Meanwhile, Trump suggested the Cuban regime could also collapse following Venezuela's Maduro regime and Iran's Khamenei regime. In the Politico interview, he said, "Cuba will fall, too," noting that Cuba is struggling as the United States cut off oil supplies that had been flowing from Venezuela to Cuba. He added that the Cuban regime "wants to negotiate" and said, "We are talking with Cuba."