'I Said, No Thanks': Trump Claims Iran Wanted To Make Him Supreme Leader

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the people of Iran want to make him their supreme leader, but according to him, he is not interested in taking the position. Speaking at a Republican fundraiser event in Washington, Trump also doubled down on his claim that Iran wants to end the nearly month-long war, insisting the officials in Tehran are negotiating with Washington but are afraid to admit it over fears of mutiny at home. 

Trump claimed that the idea of him becoming Iran's next Supreme Leader was informally floated by leadership in Tehran after the US-Israeli military campaign killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he turned them down.

Trump's Claim

"There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran. 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." Trump said at the annual National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fundraising dinner. 

Iran has elevated Mojtaba Khamenei as the supreme leader following the assassination of his father, the former Ayatollah, Ali Khamenei.

#Watch | US President Donald Trump has claimed that the people of Iran want to make him their supreme leader, but according to him, he is not interested in taking the position

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Trump also insisted that Tehran was negotiating with Washington to end the war, despite Tehran's denial. 

"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," Trump said, referring to a series of high-profile assassinations in Iran that have created a power vacuum in the country. 

Iran's Counter-Claim

The White House has also insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures and issued fresh conditions of its own to end the conflict that has wreaked havoc across the Middle East and global markets. Tehran's conditions seek guarantees that the US and Israel won't resume their attacks, reparations for war damages, and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, according to state-owned Press TV. 

Iran has also not shown any sign of backing down despite relentless Israeli and US bombardment.