On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump told CNN host Dina Bash in an interview that he has no issue with another "religious leader" coming to power in Iran, emphasizing that the future leader does not need to be democratic but should behave properly toward America, Israel, and other Middle Eastern countries. A week earlier, the United States and Israel launched a joint operation against Iran that resulted in the death of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic.