President Trump on Sunday said he was “not happy” with Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was selected by a group of 88 Iranian clerics known as the Assembly of Experts on Sunday. His father and wife were killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran last week.
Trump on Sunday told “Fox and Friends” host Brian Kilmeade, “I am not happy” after Mojtaba Khamenei’s announcement as supreme leader.
In the months prior the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran, Trump encouraged anti-government protests to overthrow the theocratic regime. After Ali Khamenei’s death, Trump told the Iranian people that “the hour of your freedom is at hand,” urging them to rise up and revolt against the current government.
But, in recent days, Trump said he would have to approve of the country’s new leader after vowing to ensure that Iran’s nuclear weapons development program is permanently dismantled.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” the president told Axios on Thursday.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he later added.
Mojtaba Khamanei is closely connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and would play a major role in any of Iran’s plans to retaliate against the U.S. and Israel’s military campaign.
Earlier Sunday, ahead of Iran’s official announcement, Trump said any new leader would not “last long” without his approval and suggested that he could back a leader with ties to the Khamenei regime.
“There are numerous people that could qualify,” Trump told ABC News without naming a potential candidate.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
