Trump Suggests U.S. Could Control The Strait Of Hormuz With Iran: 'Me And The Ayatollah, Whoever He Is'

President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. could control the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Middle East through which a sizable portion of the world energy goes through, along with Iran.

Speaking to press on Monday, Trump was asked to elaborate on the notion. "Maybe me. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is. There'll also be a form of a very serious form of a regime change," Trump added, noting that most of Iran's top officials have been killed since the war began on February 28.

"Now in all fairness, everybody's been killed from the regime. They're really starting off. There's automatically a regime change," Trump said. He went on to claim that such a scenario represents a form of regime change, and his administration is dealing with new leaders that he finds "to be very reasonable, very solid."

"The people within know who they are. They're very respected. And maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for," Trump added. He added that the person in question is not the new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Trump also weighed in on the fate of Khamenei, saying "nobody has heard of the second supreme leader." "We have not heard of him. We don't know if he's living," he added.

Different reports have claimed that U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies have information suggesting that Khamenei is wounded but alive as Iranian officials continue to request meetings with Khamenei, even if they are unsuccessful due to security concerns.

It is unclear whether he is involved in any of the decisions being made by the Iranian regime at the moment. "It's beyond weird. We don't think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as the supreme leader, but at the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm," a U.S. official told Axios during the weekend.

Trump on Sunday postponed a deadline to strike Iranian energy facilities if Iran doesn't open up the Strait of Hormuz, citing productive conversations between the countries over the past two days.

Tehran rejected any conversations were taking place, claiming Trump's remarks were aimed at tampering with oil prices and "buying time" for future military action. Iran has said it will target energy facilities across the region if the U.S. targets its own. However, Trump has reaffirmed that talks are ongoing, even if he has not said with whom.