US President Donald Trump said Thursday he should be involved in choosing Iran's next supreme leader as the US and Israel hammered the country for a sixth day. Iran kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region.
Speaking to American news website Axios, Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war.
Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as "a lightweight."
"We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said.
"I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela," said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodriguez took power in January after Trump ordered a US military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and whisk him to the US to face federal drug conspiracy charges.
Trump's comments were likely to renew questions about whether the US and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies.
Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Iran's next supreme leader - if he continues to threaten Israel, the US and others - "will be a target for elimination".
