Iran’s next supreme leader must be vetted and approved directly by the White House, President Trump warned — as reports swirled that slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son would succeed him in power.

“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump told Axios Thursday, referring to the Latin American leader who replaced dictator Nicolas Maduro after he was captured by US forces.

The former host of “The Apprentice” also brushed off reports that the slain supreme leader’s son – Mojtaba Khamenei – is poised to take over — saying the 56-year-old would be an “unacceptable” option and a continuation of his father’s despotic regime.

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight.”

The president’s comments come after reports began to swirl out of Iran that Mojtaba — who was reportedly treated for impotency in London as a younger man — was being strongly favored to succeed his father by the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which selects the country’s leader.

Hardliners have reportedly been pushing for Mojtaba’s appointment, the Financial Times previously reported.

That could suggest Iran’s remaining leadership wants to send a message to the West that it will not cow to aggressions — and that things would be business as usual in the country.

But Trump  been vocal about building a future for Iran — and the world — that would be free from the state-sponsored terrorism, rocket launches and nuclear weapons threat that marked Kahmenei’s reign.

“That would probably be the worst: You go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in that was no better,” he told reporters Tuesday. “We’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people.”

Mojtaba has not held any significant role in Iranian government since his father came to power in the 1980s, but he has long been seen as a powerful backroom dealer adept at further his father’s oppressive rule from the shadows.

In the 2000s he was accused of rigging presidential elections to ensure the appointment of conservative regime allies, and he was even sanctioned by the US in 2019 for working to “advance his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.”

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Mojtaba’s appointment would also signify an alarming new chapter in Iran’s history – as the current Republic was founded on revolution against a monarchy, and another Khamenei in charge could cement an era of despotism ingrained along family lines.

It remains unclear, however, whether Iran’s next supreme leader will be able to wield as much power as the late Khamenei did.

He was able to consolidate an enormous amount of power during his 36 years in charge, and the next leader will be walking into power with the crosshairs of America and Israel watching their every move.

Iran is currently under the control of a three man council led by two regime hardliners who were not killed in the strike.

The new leader is expected to be selected by the Assembly of Experts by next week, according to reports, but they must first be cleared by a “Guardian Council” that vets possible government leaders for their compliance with strict Islamic law.