The U.S. president Donald Trump said in an interview he gave on Thursday to Axios that he considers his own personal involvement necessary in selecting Iran’s next leader, as he claimed he did in Venezuela.

Trump insisted that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the most likely favorite for succession, is not an acceptable choice for Washington. He stressed that his possible election “would lead the United States back into war in five years” if he continues the same policies as his father.

Trump also said he wants to be personally involved so that a leader emerges who, as he said, will bring “harmony and peace” to Iran, rejecting the prospect of succession through the existing regime system.

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is insignificant. I must be involved in the selection, just as I was with Delcy [Rodríguez] in Venezuela.”

“Herzog should pardon Netanyahu today”

Donald Trump also told Channel 12 that Israeli President Isaac Herzog should grant a pardon to Benjamin Netanyahu today.

“I don’t want anything to bother Bibi except the war with Iran,” the U.S. president clarified.

Trump also claimed that he has been speaking with Herzog about the issue of pardoning Netanyahu for a year: “He promised me five times that he would pardon Bibi. I told him I wouldn’t meet with him if he didn’t pardon Netanyahu.”