United States President, Donald Trump, has said Iran’s next supreme leader may not remain in power for long if the individual does not receive approval from the United States.

Trump made the remark on Sunday during an interview with ABC News, as discussions continue in Iran over the selection of a new supreme leader.

“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” the president told ABC News. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”

He added, “I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse let them have a nuclear weapon.”

When asked whether he would approve a candidate with links to the previous Iranian leadership, Trump said he could support such a choice if the person proves to be suitable.

“I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would. There are numerous people that could qualify.”

The U.S. president also claimed Iran had been planning to dominate the Middle East before recent tensions escalated.

“They are a paper tiger. They weren’t a paper tiger a week ago, I’ll tell you. And they were going to attack,” he said. “Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East, to take over the entire Middle East.”

Trump further indicated that military options remain under consideration, including the possible deployment of special forces to seize Iran’s enriched uranium.

“Everything is on the table. Everything.” (ABC News)