Washington, United States. President Donald Trump said the United States should be involved in deciding Iran’s next leader as fighting escalated on Thursday with U.S. and Israeli jets striking across the country and Gulf cities coming under renewed bombardment.
Trump comments on Iran leadership
In an interview with Reuters, Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was an unlikely choice to succeed his father.
“We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future,” Trump said by telephone.
“We don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again … Somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country.”
Calls for Kurdish offensive and U.S. contacts
Trump also encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces to go on the offensive.
“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it,” Trump said, adding he would not say whether the United States would provide air cover for any Kurdish offensive.
The Trump administration has had contact with Iranian Kurdish groups since the U.S.-Israeli strikes began.
Two drone attacks targeted an Iranian opposition camp in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday, as well as an oil field operated by an American firm, security sources said.
Evacuation warnings and reported casualties
The comments came as the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate areas including eastern Tehran, while Iranian media reported blasts in various parts of the capital.
An air attack killed 17 people in a guest house on a road northwest of the capital, Iranian state television said.
“Today is worse than yesterday. They are striking northern Tehran. We have nowhere to go. It is like a war zone. Help us,” said Mohammadreza, 36, by phone from Tehran, as explosions rang out from what Israel described as its latest wave of strikes on Iranian government targets.
What impact could expanded U.S. involvement have on the conflict and Iran’s internal politics?
