President Donald Trump said he is not insisting that Iran become a democracy, saying instead that the country needs a leader who will treat the United States and Israel well.
Asked whether he requires a democratic government in Iran, Trump told CNN: “No, I’m saying there has to be a leader that’s going be fair and just, do a great job, treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East — they’re all our partners.”
Trump also said he would not rule out a religious leader taking power in Iran.
“Well I may be, yeah. I mean, it depends on who the person is. I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” he told CNN in a brief phone interview.
In the interview, Trump said Iran’s leadership had been “neutered” following the recent military campaign.
“Iran is not the same country it was a week ago,” he told CNN. “A week ago they were powerful, and now they’ve been indeed neutered.”
He also compared the situation to Venezuela, saying installing new leadership in Iran would be straightforward.
“It’s going to work very easily. It’s going to work like it did in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to acting President Delcy Rodríguez, according to CNN.
Trump also praised the U.S. operation against Iran and claimed the campaign had severely damaged Iran’s naval forces.
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“We’ve knocked their Navy,” he said, adding that about 25 Iranian ships had been destroyed, according to CNN.
Despite concerns about rising fuel prices, Trump said any increase would be temporary.
“That’s all right. It’ll be short term time. It’ll go way down very quickly,” he said, adding that he had “already figured out” the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported.
Earlier Friday, Trump said there would be no deal with Iran except “unconditional surrender,” a week after the United States joined Israel in launching military action against Tehran, according to Reuters.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that the United States and its allies would also work to boost Iran’s economy.
Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he wants to be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader.