President Trump claims Iranian leadership wants him to be next Supreme Leader

The war in Iran is in its fourth week, and while President Donald Trump has indicated that negotiations are on with Tehran, the possibility of de-escalation remains slim. Part of the reason is the President's contradicting statements themselves. A day before announcing that his administration had had "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East", Trump had threatened to attack Iran's power plants and energy facilities. Since then, President Trump's statements have been a convoluted mix of threats of escalating attacks on Iran and claims that the U.S. has already won the war. And now, in a recent statement, the President claimed that the Iranian leadership wanted to make him the next Supreme Leader. 

"They are negotiating, by the way. And they want to make a deal so badly, but they are afraid to say it. Because they figure they will be killed by their own people. They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us. There has never been a head of a country who wanted that job less than being the head of Iran," he said at a Republican fundraiser. "We listen to some of the things they say. They say, 'I don't want it. We would like to make you the next Supreme Leader.' No, thank you. I don't want it," he added. However, statements made by the Iranian leadership stongly contradict the President's claim of peace talks. 

Even on Monday, when Trump announced "productive conversations" with Tehran, Iranian state media dismissed it as a false statement, with the leadership in Tehran also claiming that Trump was spreading "fake news" to manipulate the market. Iran also said it rejected a 15-point plan that the Trump administration had reportedly proposed. Instead, Iran has set its own terms for negotiations, including a complete halt to U.S. and Israeli "aggression and assassinations," war reparations, and formal recognition of Iran's sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz. 

The White House, meanwhile, said that reports on the details of President Trump's 15-point plan may not be entirely true. Addressing reporters, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "I saw a 15-point plan that was floated in the media. I would caution reporters in this room from reporting about speculative points or speculative plans from anonymous sources. The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual." Leavitt also warned that Iran will be "hit harder than they have ever been hit before" if they do not return to the negotiating table.