Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran’s leadership informally suggested he become the country’s next Supreme Leader–and that he rejected the idea. Speaking at a Republican fundraiser in Washington, Trump repeated his assertion that backchannel talks with Tehran are ongoing to end the nearly month long war, even as Iranian officials deny any negotiations are taking place.
At the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner, Trump said Iran’s circle was signaling that they did not want the top leadership role and even floated the idea of making him the country’s next Supreme Leader. “There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran,” he said. “We hear them very clearly. They say, I don't want it. We'd like to make you the next supreme leader. No, thank you. I don't want it.”
His remarks come amid a power vacuum in Iran after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last month and the elevation of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new leader. Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since the war erupted, and reports say he was injured in the attacks, deepening uncertainty about who is actually in control.
Trump described the US Israeli campaign against Iran as a “military decimation,” again declaring a decisive American victory. He insisted that secret talks with Tehran are moving ahead and that the regime wants a ceasefire but is afraid to admit it for fear of domestic backlash and further US strikes. “And I tell you, we're winning so big, nobody's ever seen anything like we're doing in the Middle East with Iran. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us,” he said.
As the war continues to destabilize the region and roil global energy markets, Washington is reported to have sent Tehran a 15 point ceasefire proposal through intermediaries, including Pakistan. The plan reportedly demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme, halt support for proxy groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and allow free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has dismissed both the proposal and Trump’s claims of negotiations. A spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, mocked the idea on state television, saying: “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with yourself? As we have always said... no one like us will make a deal with you. Not now. Not ever.”
Iran’s semi official Fars News Agency, meanwhile, reported that Tehran has instead put forward a five point counter proposal, insisting that any end to the conflict will be on its own terms. These reportedly include the shutdown or scaling back of US military bases in the region, changes to transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, easing of sanctions, and guarantees against future attacks.