Kristen Welker (NBC News)
 

In a phone call with NBC News, Trump said "a large amount of leadership" had been killed in Iran in today's strikes.

"I don't mean like two people," the president added without specifying a number.

Asked about who will replace Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump said, "I don’t know, but at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like."

He added, "I'm only being a little sarcastic when I say that."

In an earlier interview with NBC News, the president addressed reports that Khamenei was killed in airstrikes today, saying, "We feel that that is a correct story."

He added that "most" of Iran's senior leadership is "gone," saying, “The people that make all the decisions, most of them are gone.”