Trump said on Sunday that the new leader "won't last long" if Iran does not get his approval before finalizing the selection.
Trump told ABC News, "He must get our approval. If he doesn't, he won't last long. We need to make sure this doesn't happen again every ten years, and when there's no president like me in the future, we don't ignore it. We cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons."
This is not just an empty threat but a rare and dangerous statement directly interfering in another country's sovereignty. Considering the context, this came after the US-Israel joint assassination of Iran's former Supreme Leader Khamenei, effectively drawing a "red line for death" for Iran's successor.
The core logic (life or death, time limit): "No approval means death." The new regime must comply with U.S. will, otherwise it faces "targeted elimination." Trump used the straightforward survival threat "won't last long," turning regime change into physical annihilation.
He clearly rejected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late leader, who was considered a likely candidate, saying his succession would mean "repeating every five years," indicating a determination to completely end the anti-American policy.
The deeper paradox of such statements is from "non-intervention in counter-terrorism" to openly engaging in "regime engineering." However, history has shown that leaders imposed by external forces lack legitimacy in Iran, which could further escalate tensions, dragging the U.S. into a deeper quagmire than in Iraq or Afghanistan.
In summary, it is an attempt to "change the head" physically of a theocratic republic on the basis of military victory. This marks a complete shift of U.S. objectives from "counter-terrorism" to the complete reshaping of the enemy's politics.
This is a naked threat and intimidation. Using the method of death threats to interfere in other countries' internal affairs publicly is extremely rare, even unprecedented in world history.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859123501884416/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.