Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
President of the United States Donald Trump say the decision when war with Iran to end will be determined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with Times of Israel on Sunday (8/3), Trump continued to take Netanyahu’s input into account even though the final decision was in his hands.
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“I think it’s a mutual decision to some extent. We continue to discuss. I will make a decision at the appropriate time, but all considerations will be taken into account,” Trump said.
Trump emphasized that Iran would destroy Israel if he and Netanyahu were not in their current positions.
“Iran will destroy Israel and the region around it. We are working together. We have destroyed a country that wants to destroy Israel,” he said.
When asked whether Israel could continue the war after the US stopped its attacks, Trump refused to discuss the possibility.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Trump said.
He also avoided setting a firm timetable for the war, although White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the conflict was expected to last four to six weeks.
Trump’s response shows Netanyahu’s outsized influence over US decision-making in the war, which was launched jointly by the US and Israel on February 28.
The attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Defense Minister Amir Hatami and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Mohammed Pakpour.
The telephone interview came shortly after Iranian state media announced Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the next supreme leader.
Hours earlier, Trump told ABC News that Iran’s next leader won’t “last long” if he doesn’t get White House approval.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said in response to Mojtaba’s election.
(rnp/bac)
[Gambas:Video CNN]
