US President Donald Trump has told Reuters in a telephone interview that the United States wants to be involved in the process of choosing Iran’s next leader.

The US president said it was very early in the process of picking a new leader but that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was an unlikely choice.

“We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future,” Trump said.

“We don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again … Somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country.”