On Tuesday, President Trump remarked that the “worst case” outcome of his conflict with Iran would be the emergence of a new leader who is just as detrimental as the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump stated, “I suppose the worst scenario would be if we take action and someone equally problematic replaces the previous leader, right?”
“That possibility exists. We certainly want to avoid that. The worst outcome would be to go through this only to realize in five years that we’ve installed someone no better. Ideally, we’d find a leader who can truly uplift the nation for its citizens,” he added.
Trump noted that while exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi is a notable figure in the opposition, he is not currently a primary consideration.
“Some individuals support him, but we haven’t focused heavily on that option,” Trump commented.
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“Some people like him, and we haven’t been thinking about too much about that,” Trump said.
“It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe, would be more appropriate. I’ve said that he looks like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that somebody that’s there that’s currently popular, if there’s such a person, but we have people like that. We have people that were more moderate.”
