President Donald Trump on Tuesday raised concerns about what could come next for Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that the worst-case scenario would be if the country ends up with leadership no better than the regime it just lost.
Speaking to reporters, Trump acknowledged that while change inside Iran could bring an opportunity for improvement, there is also the possibility that the country’s next leader could continue the same path that defined Khamenei’s rule.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen, we don’t want that to happen, it would probably be the worst,” Trump said.
The president added that the United States hopes any future leadership in Tehran would bring a shift that benefits the Iranian people rather than simply replacing one hardline ruler with another.
“You go through this and then in five years you realize you’ve put someone in who is no better,” Trump said. “So, we’d like to see somebody in there who’s going to bring it back for the people.”
Iran is currently being governed by an interim council following Khamenei’s death. The temporary leadership body includes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guardian Council jurist member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, and Iran’s judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.
The uncertainty surrounding Iran’s leadership has only intensified amid ongoing developments in the region.
On Tuesday, Israel struck a building housing Iran’s Council of Experts while members of the body were reportedly inside voting on the next supreme leader. According to Fox News, more than 90 Iranian Shia clerics were believed to be inside the building at the time of the strike.
The Council of Experts is the body responsible for selecting Iran’s supreme leader, making the reported strike a dramatic development as the country attempts to determine who will ultimately succeed Khamenei.
Trump indicated that some potential successors who had previously been discussed are no longer in the picture.
“We had some in mind from that group that is dead,” the president said. “And now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports.”
Trump suggested the situation surrounding Iran’s leadership is becoming increasingly uncertain.
“So, I guess you have a third wave coming in,” he added. “Pretty soon, we’re not going to know anybody.”
As speculation grows about who could eventually take control of the country, the name of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has surfaced in discussions as a possible figure who could lead Iran in the future.
Pahlavi, who lives in the United States, is the son of the late Shah of Iran and has long been viewed by some as a potential alternative to the current regime.
Trump, however, signaled that his administration is not focused on that possibility.
“Some people like him, and we haven’t been thinking too much about that,” the president said when asked about Pahlavi.
Instead, Trump suggested that leadership emerging from within Iran itself might ultimately be more appropriate.
“It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe would be more appropriate,” he said.
With Iran’s leadership structure in flux and the region already facing heightened tensions, the question of who will ultimately rise to power in Tehran remains one of the most significant unknowns in the ongoing conflict.
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