WASHINGTON, January 17. /TASS/. Time has come to find a new leadership for Iran, US President Donald Trump told Politico in an interview.

"It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran," he said. According to Trump, the authorities of the Islamic republic are responsible for "the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before."

"In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is a very low level — the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control," Trump said. He claimed that Iran is "the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership."

On January 16, Trump responding to a question whether the Arab states and Israel had tried to convince him not to strike Iran, said that he convinced himself. According to Trump, his decision was influenced by the Iranian authorities’ refusal to execute more than 800 demonstrators. He did not specify whether this decision was final.

Unrest in Iran began on December 29 after street protests caused by rial deluation, and spread to most major cities. The authorities said about 40 law enforcement officers were killed. Since January 8, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, armed terrorists have appeared among the demonstrators. Iran has blamed Israel and the United States for organizing the riots.