The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nigeria, Gholamreza Ahdavi Raja, has criticised remarks by United States President Donald Trump, suggesting that he would be involved in determining Iran’s leadership following the death of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Saturday’s attack.
Raja said Iran would independently determine its leadership and political future without foreign interference.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the ambassador stressed that Iran would not allow external influence in its domestic affairs.
“The United States is always interfering in our domestic issues. We are an independent country. We will not let the United States interfere in our domestic affairs,” he said.
Raja’s comments followed remarks by Trump after the confirmation of the Supreme Leader’s death.
Trump, in response, took to his Truth Social account and urged Iranians to take control of their country and leadership.
Meanwhile, during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, Trump said successive waves of US-Israeli attacks had eliminated figures he believed were being prepared to assume military leadership roles in Iran.
Most of the people we had in mind are dead. I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? We’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people,” Trump said.
Also, in an interview with Axios on Thursday, Trump stated that he must be involved in the selection of Iran’s next leader.
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela”, Trump said.
Reacting to the assertions, the envoy dismissed the suggestion, stressing that decisions about Iran’s leadership would be made by its people.
“We are an independent country. We decide ourselves about our leadership, about our future, and all the decisions which we are taking are based on the people in order to preserve the interests of our country,” he said.
The ambassador also assured that Nigerians living in Iran remain safe despite tensions in the region.
“Your citizens in Iran are safe and secure because some of your citizens are in Tehran. Some of them are in Qom and other cities.
So far, we haven’t received any reports regarding Nigerian casualties or injuries. So they are secure,” he said.
He added that relations between Nigeria and Iran remain cordial, noting that diplomatic ties between both countries span more than five decades.
“Our relationship goes back more than 55 years. During these decades, we have had good relations. We are satisfied with the level of the relationship between the two countries,” the envoy said.
According to him, both countries continue to cooperate in several sectors, including politics, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, industry, and education.