Nigeria, March 6 -- US President Donald Trump has said he needs to be involved in the selection of the next Iranian leader.

He said this to Axios, an American publication, on Thursday, five days after the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint strike by the US and Israel on his home in Tehran.

According to Mr Trump, Iran was only "wasting its time" if it tried to appoint a successor without US involvement.

He also declared that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Mr Khamenei, who is considered a likely successor, was an unacceptable choice to him.

He described the late Mr Khamenei's son as a "lightweight," while saying his "son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to...