Watch: Trump meets with German Merz as the scope of the American-Israeli conflict with Iran expands

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “someone inside” the Iranian regime may be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel military campaign ends — but said “most of the people we had in mind are dead.”

Watch Trump’s meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the video player above.

The president, who four days ago strongly called on the Iranians to “take over your government” once the US-Israeli bombing ends, appears to be moving further away from the idea that the war represents an opportunity to end the religious rule that has been in place since the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Live updates: Trump says the war on Iran may last for weeks

Trump said that several Iranian officials whom his administration viewed as potential new leaders for the country were killed in the US-Israeli campaign that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other senior officials.

Trump has not publicly identified anyone he considers to be a credible future leader of Iran. It is unclear what, if any, communication the White House has had with Iranian officials since the war began.

“Most of the people we were thinking about are dead,” he said in an interview with reporters in the Oval Office. “Now we have another group, and they may have died too, based on reports. So we have a third wave coming. Pretty soon we won’t know anyone.”

Trump said that Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran’s last shah, who is trying to position himself for a return should Iran’s Shiite theocracy fall, is not someone whose administration is deeply considering taking over leadership in Iran.

“It seems to me that someone on the inside might be a better fit,” Trump said, adding that it might make sense for “someone out there, who is currently popular, if there is such a person” to emerge from the power vacuum.

Trump’s comments came while he was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in his first personal meeting with a foreign leader since the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran.

Trump said he wanted to avoid a “worst-case” scenario where “someone takes over for the person who was just as bad as the person before.”

“It could happen. We don’t want that to happen,” Trump added. “You go through that, and then in five years you realize you put in someone who was no better.”

The White House is trying to confront the criticism

The White House has stepped up efforts to counter criticism that it moved unnecessarily quickly to launch a war of choice against Iran.

Trump’s decision to strike last week came after lengthy negotiations conducted by the president’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with the Iranians, talks that the United States increasingly viewed as an attempt to derail any progress.

After the latest round of discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, Witkopf and Kushner told Trump that reaching a nuclear agreement was similar to the one struck by former President Barack Obama in 2015, according to a senior administration official.

The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, described it as a “potential Obama-plus deal” and Witkoff and Kushner believe such an agreement would take months, but is possible.

However, even as they expressed their willingness to continue diplomacy and “fight for every point we can” if that is what Trump wants, negotiators stressed to the president that the Iranians were not willing to reach an agreement that would be satisfactory to the United States.

Trump criticizes UK and Spain for lack of support

Meanwhile, Trump strongly criticized Britain and Spain for their reluctance to assist US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Trump said angrily at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.”

Starmer had initially banned US aircraft from using British bases to launch attacks on Iran, which began on Saturday. He later agreed to allow the United States to use bases in England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iranian ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to strike other targets.

Trump also said he would “cut off all trade with Spain,” a day after Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez said his country would not allow the United States to use joint bases in southern Spain for any strikes not covered by the UN Charter.

Trump doubts that Israel forced his hand

The president also sought to push back on criticism from some of his strongest allies over the decision to go to war, questions that rose after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the United States decided to strike because “we knew there would be Israeli action.”

“We knew that if we didn’t proactively go after them before they launched these attacks, we would suffer even greater losses,” Rubio said.

But Trump rejected the idea that the White House had been drawn into the conflict by Israel. “We were negotiating with these crazy people, and my opinion was that they were going to attack,” Trump said. “If anything, I probably would have put pressure on Israel.”

Merz said during his visit with Trump in the Oval Office that Germany is “looking forward to the day after” the end of the war with Iran.

He said Berlin wants to work with the United States on a strategy when the current Iranian government ends.

“We have a great interest in a joint approach, joint working and what we can do,” Mears said. “This is important not only for Americans,” he said. “This is very important for Europe and very important for Israel and its security.”

Merz also noted that rising oil prices are hurting the global economy, making an argument for a quick end to the conflict.

The president acknowledged that oil and gas prices will rise as the United States continues to participate in the strikes, but he said they will be fleeting.

“We have oil prices that are a little high for a while, but once this is over, I think those prices will go down to a lower level than before,” Trump said.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States jumped 11 cents Tuesday night to about $3.11 in the United States, according to AAA.

Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Fatima Hussein and Michelle L. contributed reporting. Price in Washington, and Jill Lawless in London.