In interview, US president says ‘best decision’ Iranian supreme leader ever made was not hanging political dissidents, calls Iran ‘worst place to live anywhere in the world.’
US President Donald Trump, for the first time, appeared to call on Saturday for the end of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule in Iran. “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump told Politico. The comments are the closest Trump has come yet to calling for regime change in Iran, though he seemed to direct his ire in the interview at the supreme leader personally, and not at the broader Islamic Republic system.
The US president’s remarks come after he indicated on Friday that he had moved away from the idea of striking Iran, after the regime had allegedly agreed to cancel the planned executions of 800 protesters. Days earlier, Trump had threatened to strike if Iran killed protesters, urging the latter group to “take over institutions” and assuring that “help is on its way.”
But his satisfaction with the regime’s move on Friday suggested that his threat regarding protester deaths only referred to planned executions, and not killings that reportedly took place during the regime’s crackdown on the demonstrations, where the death count was said to be in the thousands. Trump had insisted some of those deaths were caused by stampedes.
In a speech broadcast by state television to mark a religious holiday, Khamenei on Saturday said the protests had left “several thousand” people dead — the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began December 28. (Ed note: Khamenei has been mouthing off to President Trump, and now Trump is beginning to answer the Ayatollah back, this should get real interesting very soon.) (Read More)
