President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to Iran's current leadership, saying it was "time to look for new leadership in Iran" after a public exchange with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
President Trump made the remarks to POLITICO after a series of hostile social media posts on X from Khamenei, in which the supreme leader accused U.S president of responsibility for violence and unrest in Iran.
President Trump stated that Khamenei was guilty of " the complete destruction of his country" arguing that Iran's leadership relies on repression and violence to maintain control.
The comments come after weeks of unrest in Iran, during which thousands of protestors were reportedly killed, prompting Trump to issue repeated warnings of possible U. S military intervention.
Earlier in the week, Trump urged Iranians to continue protesting and to "take over institutions" saying that "help is on the way" before later stating he had been informed the killings had stopped.
Asked about the scale of potential U.S military action, Trump said the Iranian leader's decision to halt mass executions was significant.
"The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago"
Khamenei's posts on X accused Trump of inflicting "casualties, damages and slander," on the Iranian nation and if misrepresenting violent groups as speaking for the Iranian people. In response, Trump said Iran's rukers should focus on governing rather than suppressing dissent adding that Iran suffers from poor governance and widespread violence.
"Leadership is about respect, not fear and death"
He also criticized the country's overall living conditions, describing it as failed leadership.
Iranian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
