Trump Claims Iran Has ‘No Idea’ Who Its Leader Is: ‘They’re All Messed Up’

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Iran has “no idea who their leader is” or “who the hell” can speak for its government as a fragile ceasefire continues and diplomatic efforts remain stalled.

Speaking in a phone call to MS NOW’s The Weekend, the president said that the country’s leadership was “all messed up” and that “nobody wants to help them.”

“They’re all messed up. They have no idea who their leader is. You know, we took out, really, three levels of leaders. And everybody that was even close behind him,” Trump told the network, referring to the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “So they have a hard time figuring out who the hell can speak for the country. They just don’t know.”

He continued: “They’re really a mess, and now nobody wants to help them, because they no longer have the fear factor. They’re no longer — they’re no longer the bully of the Middle East.”

The president told MS NOW that by extending the ceasefire he intended to give the regime time to present a “unified proposal” to end the conflict.

The network noted that Trump’s claims about the leadership confusion are at odds with reporting from The New York Times and other outlets, which found little evidence that the regime was in disarray. Rather, power appears to have recentered on senior military figures.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the former leader’s son, was named successor after Israeli strikes killed his father. He is yet to appear publicly, leaving questions over his role in ongoing negotiations

The U.S. military, meanwhile, is blocking traffic around Iranian ports as the standoff over access to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil shipments, continues while attempts to restart peace negotiations are yet to be emerge.

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