Trump threatens to eliminate Iran's Supreme Leader if he refuses to comply with US demands

Istanbul — US President Donald Trump has stated he is open to the option of eliminating Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if he refuses to comply with Washington’s demands, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, 9 March.

Trump made these remarks privately to his assistants, the daily newspaper reported.

Citing active and former US officials, The Wall Street Journal noted that Trump’s demands include, among other things, the dissolution of Iran’s nuclear programme.

The White House declined to comment on the matter.

The report emerged after Trump publicly described Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Supreme Leader of Iran as “a major mistake” and expressed doubt that Khamenei’s leadership would endure for long.

In a statement to The New York Post, the US President also admitted he was “not pleased” with the outcome of Iran’s new leadership selection.

Mojtaba Khamenei, aged 56, was appointed as Iran’s new Supreme Leader to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of a combined US-Israeli strike on Iran on 28 February.

At the time of his death, Ali Khamenei had ruled Iran for 37 years.