Trump would support killing Iran's new supreme leader if he defies US demands: Report

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump has privately indicated to aides that he would be open to killing Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if he refuses to meet US demands, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The demands include dismantling Iran's nuclear development, the newspaper reported, citing current and former US officials.

It said the White House declined to comment on the matter.

The report came after Trump publicly called Khamenei's appointment "a big mistake," saying he doubted it would last, and after he told the New York Post he was "not happy" with the choice.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was appointed over the weekend to succeed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening wave of the US-Israeli joint attacks on Feb. 28. The elder Khamenei had led Iran for 37 years.