In an interview with The New York Times, US President Donald Trump indicated that there are three candidates he considers suitable for the post of Iran's next leader.
The publication reports that during the interview the American leader stated that he had “three very good choices“ for who could lead the Islamic Republic. When asked to name specific names, the White House chief of staff declined to answer.
The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said that the leadership council would assume the duties of the supreme leader until a successor to the slain Ali Khamenei is chosen.
Trump raised the issue of the possibility of lifting sanctions on Iran if the country's new leadership demonstrates pragmatism.
However, he refused to specify whether the United States would in any way support those trying to overthrow the current Iranian government. "I'm not making any commitments one way or the other. It's too early," the newspaper quoted Trump as saying. "We have a job to do and we're doing it very well. I would say we are well ahead of schedule“, the White House chief added.
The White House still does not have a clear vision of how the situation on the battlefield and in the political landscape of Iran will develop in the coming weeks, The New York Times writes, highlighting the high degree of uncertainty in US President Donald Trump's answers to questions during his interview.
The newspaper reported that the US president presented several contradictory scenarios for the formation of a new Iranian government. Trump has repeatedly cited his experience in Venezuela, where he ordered Delta Force to capture Nicolas Maduro, as a model for a power transition. Despite these parallels, however, the US leader has failed to give a concrete answer to the question of who exactly should occupy leadership positions in Iran.