Trump says currently not considering US ground troop deployment in Iran war
The US president says sending troops into Iran would waste time while commenting on the country’s losses during the conflict.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday it would be a "waste of time" currently to consider sending US ground troops into Iran, NBC News reported, dismissing the Iranian foreign minister's warning that such a move would spell disaster for invaders.
"It's a waste of time. They've lost everything. They've lost their navy. They've lost everything they can lose," he told NBC by telephone, adding that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's earlier remark that Iran was ready for a US or Israeli ground invasion was a "wasted comment."
Trump also indicated he is keen to see Iran's leadership structure removed and that "we want to go in and clean out everything" quickly.
"We don't want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period," he said. He added that he had ideas for a new leader but declined to name anyone.
Trump said earlier he would "have to be involved" in the appointment of Iran's next leader after US-Israeli strikes killed Ali Khamenei when the conflict began on Saturday.
Heavy attacks were reported in Tehran on Friday after Israel said it was hitting "regime infrastructure" in a "new phase" of the war it launched with the US against Iran.
Trump against Mojtaba Khamenei
President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday he expects to have a personal say in choosing Iran’s next leader, comparing it to his role in selecting Venezuela’s post-Maduro leadership.
"I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela," Trump told Axios, dismissing Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a reported frontrunner to succeed him — as "a lightweight."
Trump made clear he would not accept a successor who continued the late supreme leader's policies, warning that this would drag the US back to war "in five years."
Iran has not yet announced a new supreme leader since Khamenei, alongside dozens of other senior Iranian officials, was killed after the launch of joint US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.
Though he holds no formal public office, Mojtaba Khamenei is widely regarded as the most influential of Khamenei's children and was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2019. He has also been linked to the Basij force used to suppress protests after Iran's disputed 2009 election.
Under Iran's Constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts is responsible for selecting a successor, while a temporary council assumes leadership duties in the interim.