Donald Trump proposed the extraordinary idea of “joint leadership” of Iran following claims that successful negotiations with Tehran were underway.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Trump suggested the US could run the country alongside an unnamed Iranian leader.
Warming to his theme, the US president said recent talks indicated there would be “very serious form of regime change” in Iran, adding that the Strait of Hormuz could be “jointly controlled”.
Asked by whom, Mr Trump said: “Maybe me. Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah is.
“There’s automatically a regime change, but we’re dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid,” he said. “The people within know who they are. They’re very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for.”
Within hours, the speaker of the Iranian parliament denied claims Tehran had been negotiating with Washington and accused the US president of “fake news”.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: “No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”
A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told state media that they had received messages from other countries in recent days suggesting the US were seeking discussions to end the war.
The US president suggested they might find a new Iranian leader similar to Venezuela, where vice president Delcy Rodríguez took over from Nicolás Maduro following his removal from the presidency in a US special forces raid in January.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump claimed negotiations were proving successful and said he had postposed airstrikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for a five-day period, having issued Iran a 48-hour ultimatum on Saturday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Truth Social post, Mr Trump said: “Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch [sic] will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”
The Brent crude oil price dived to below $100 per barrel (£74.50) on Monday for the first time since last Wednesday following his earlier statement, although it later started ticking back up after Mr Ghalibaf’s denials.
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