President Donald Trump said “a large amount” of Iranian leadership were killed during strikes, telling NBC News, “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”
Trump also suggested that the US believes reports citing Israeli officials that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead. “We feel that that is a correct story,” he told NBC in the phone interview.
While Trump said he didn’t know who might replace Khamenei, he added that unnamed people may soon be calling him to weigh in on a successor.
“At some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like,” Trump said, without specifying who. “I’m only being a little sarcastic when I say that.”
Also in the phone call, Trump deemed the strikes a “success.”
“We’ve inflicted tremendous damage. It would take them years to rebuild,” he said.
