United States President Donald Trump has issued a strong warning to Iran’s clerical leadership, declaring that whoever succeeds the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei must secure American approval or risk a very short tenure in power.
Speaking in a telephone interview with ABC News on Sunday, Trump said the United States would closely monitor the succession process in Tehran and could intervene if the new leadership fails to align with Washington’s expectations.
The US president also refused to rule out deploying American troops to seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, amid the ongoing military campaign carried out by the United States and Israel against Iranian targets.
According to Trump, “everything is on the table,” including the use of ground forces to secure or remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium reserves — material that can be used for civilian nuclear energy but can also be further processed into nuclear weapons.
A senior administration official recently indicated that Iran could potentially refine its existing enriched uranium into weapons-grade material within about ten days if further processed.
Trump defended the possibility of direct intervention, saying it was necessary to prevent recurring confrontations with Tehran. “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 said.
Central to Trump’s remarks is the leadership transition in Iran following the death of Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in joint US-Israeli strikes last weekend. Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts is currently working to select a new supreme leader despite wartime challenges.
Trump insisted that the United States would play a decisive role in determining Iran’s future leadership. “He’s going to have to get approval from us,” the president said, adding, “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
He also suggested he would consider supporting a candidate linked to the previous regime if that person could stabilize the region, saying he would endorse “a good leader” regardless of background.
The comments come as hostilities intensify across the Middle East, with US and Israeli forces striking Iranian nuclear facilities, oil infrastructure and military installations. In response, Iran has launched drone and missile attacks across the region, including strikes targeting sites in Kuwait.
