Who is in charge? Trump: "Part of our problem with Iran is that we don't know who the hell to deal with"

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that "part of the difficulty in reaching a deal with Iran lies in not knowing who is in charge," alleging that the country was "left leaderless amidst the war."

Trump added to a crowd in Mobile, Alabama: "They have lost everything, including their leaders, by the way," describing what he considered a "leadership vacuum in Tehran," and claiming that "no one is willing to step forward to run the country."

He said: "And that's part of our problem. I don't know who the hell to deal with. There's no one to deal with. No one wants to be president. I wonder: Who do I talk to in Iran? There's no one, no one is there. Knock, knock... no one home."

However, he insisted that the war "will end soon," saying: "But that war will end soon, one way or another."

These remarks came one day after Trump defended the prolonged duration of the war—which has far exceeded the initial 4 to 6 weeks timeline he set—indicating that remaining efforts aim to ensure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon.

Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform: "I repeatedly stated it would take between 4 to 6 weeks to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat, and I accomplished that in one night; the rest of the time is just ensuring the situation remains as it is."