US President Donald Trump told CNN that Iran's leadership has been "neutralized" and that Washington is looking for new leadership in Tehran that will have good relations with the United States and Israel.
In a brief telephone interview, Trump said that Iran is no longer the same country it was a week ago.
"A week ago they were powerful, now they have been neutralized," he said.
Trump expressed his belief that a change of leadership in Iran would be easy and that he should have a role in this process, comparing the situation to Venezuela, where according to him the US managed to capture President Nicolás Maduro and install his deputy in power.
"It will work very easily. It will work like in Venezuela. We have a wonderful leader there who is doing a fantastic job," Trump said, referring to acting President Delcy Rodriguez.
The US president also said he would have no problem with Iran being led by a religious leader, as long as he brought stability and had good relations with the US and Israel.
"I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic," he said, adding that it is not necessary for Iran to be a democratic state, but for it to have a "just and honest" leader.
Trump also praised his relations with Middle Eastern countries, claiming that before he intervened, the US did not have good communication with countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
According to him, the military operation against Iran has been a great success.
"It's a 12 or maybe 15 on a scale of 10," he said, adding that the Iranian navy has been hit hard.
"When you hit the Navy, they can't do what they want. We hit about 25 big ships," Trump declared.
He also expressed that he is not concerned about the increase in fuel prices, saying that this will only be a short-term situation and that prices will fall quickly.
In the same interview, Trump declared that Cuba would also "fall very quickly."
"Cuba is going to fall very quickly. They really want to make a deal," he said, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio could take up the issue once the current conflict with Iran ends.
A day earlier, Trump declared at the White House that it is only a matter of time before Cuban-Americans can return to their country, suggesting that Cuba could be his administration's next target after the war with Iran.
