In first, Trump appears to call for end of ‘sick man’ Khamenei’s rule in Iran

US President Donald Trump for the first time appears to call for the end of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule in Iran.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump tells Politico.

The comments are the closest Trump has come yet to calling for regime change in Iran, though he seemed to direct his ire in the interview at the supreme leader personally, and not at the broader Islamic Republic system.

They come after Trump on Friday indicated he had moved away from the idea of striking Iran after the regime had allegedly agreed to cancel the planned executions of 800 protesters.

Days earlier, Trump had threatened to strike if Iran killed protesters, urging the latter group to “take over institutions” and assuring that “help is on its way.”

But his satisfaction with the regime’s move on Friday suggested that his threat regarding protester deaths only referred to planned executions, and not killings that reportedly took place during the regime’s crackdown on the demonstrations, where the death count was said to be in the thousands. Trump had insisted some of those deaths were caused by stampedes.

Asked about the scope of a potential military strike in Iran, Trump tells Politico, “The best decision [Khamenei] ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago.”

Trump speaks to Politico shortly after Khamenei, 86, posted a series of tweets blaming the US president for the unrest in Iran.

“We find the US president guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation,” Khamenei wrote.

Responding to the posts, Trump tells Politico, “What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before.”

“In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is a very low level — the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” the US president says.

“Leadership is about respect, not fear and death,” Trump adds.

“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump says. “His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership,” he says.