Trump says US should help choose Iran’s next leader

You’ve probably seen the clips. President Donald Trump says there’ll be no deal to halt strikes on Iran without its “unconditional surrender”, and that the US should help choose “a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE” new leader. Time magazine and Al Jazeera reported the wording from his Truth Social posts on Friday 6 March. (time.com) This comes a week after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in joint US‑Israeli attacks on 28 February, alongside other senior figures. Associated Press and the Washington Post confirmed his death as Tehran declared days of mourning. (apnews.com)

In an interview with Axios, Trump said he “has to be involved” in picking Iran’s next leader - and called Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, “unacceptable”. Reuters’ write‑ups of the same exchange carried the same line. For readers: pay close attention to who’s quoting whom; Axios did the original interview. (axios.com) He has also told reporters that “most of the people we had in mind are dead”, a stark acknowledgement of how the opening salvos wiped out potential successors. Associated Press captured that remark as fighting escalated mid‑week. (apnews.com)

When Trump says “like with Delcy in Venezuela”, he’s pointing to January’s US operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and left Delcy Rodríguez as acting leader. Axios and Fortune reported that Trump sees that outcome as a model; AP later detailed the diplomatic thaw that followed. Iran’s system, as we’ll explain, is very different. (axios.com)

How Iran actually picks a leader matters here. Under Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts - 88 senior clerics - must select the next supreme leader. While that happens, a three‑person Interim Leadership Council has taken on the late leader’s duties; Al Jazeera and AP identify its members as President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam‑Hossein Mohseni‑Eje’i and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. Time magazine notes Arafi’s seat explicitly. (apnews.com) What it means: despite the noise, the formal process rests with Iranian clerical institutions, not foreign governments. Expect secrecy and competing claims while war continues.

A quick rules check helps us read the headlines. The idea that the Assembly could name a permanent “council of leaders” surfaces online after big shocks, but 1989 constitutional changes removed that option; the council exists only as a temporary bridge under Article 111 until a single leader is chosen. That’s why credible outlets keep stressing “interim council” plus “Assembly must pick one person”. We’re flagging this because accuracy matters to you as a news‑literate reader. (iranchamber.com)

War is shaping the process in real time. Iranian and Israeli media reported strikes on buildings tied to the Assembly of Experts in Qom this week; some Iranian outlets said meetings shifted online after the attacks. Anadolu Agency and Business Standard carried those reports, while Iran International said Thursday’s session would be virtual. Treat these as developing details rather than settled facts. (aa.com.tr)

So who might lead? Mojtaba Khamenei - a mid‑ranking cleric who has never held public office - is often named. AP and PBS note his long‑standing ties to powerful networks, but also that hereditary succession is highly sensitive in a system born against monarchy. That helps explain why Trump’s “unacceptable” line lands loudly in Tehran. (apnews.com)

Other names appear in credible explainers, including Hassan Khomeini (grandson of the republic’s founder) and Alireza Arafi (already on the interim council). The Washington Post and Al Jazeera sketch their profiles. But Israel’s foreign minister has warned that any successor who sustains hostility will be “a certain target”, which could delay or hide any announcement. (washingtonpost.com)

Tehran’s pushback has been swift. The conservative Mehr News Agency published responses from figures linked to the interim council, insisting “the great Iranian nation will never allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs.” That message draws on a long memory - especially the 1953 CIA‑MI6 backed coup that toppled Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh - documented by Britannica. (en.mehrnews.com)

Here’s the media‑literacy bit we practise together. White House officials have at times said the aim isn’t classic “regime change”, while the president has signalled he wants new leadership and demanded surrender. Reading pieces from Axios (earlier talk of ‘off‑ramps’), the LA Times, and Time side‑by‑side shows how positions and tone can shift across days - and why you should always check dates on quotes you share. (axios.com)

Iran’s power map also matters. The Washington Post points out that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has grown in influence over decades, and AP reminds us the supreme leader commands the military and the Guard. Any successor will need to balance clerical legitimacy with security‑state power under fire. (washingtonpost.com)

What to watch next: funeral and mourning events have already been postponed amid security fears, and sources quoted by Al Jazeera say Israel will target any announced successor. That’s why you may see rumours without rapid confirmation. As of Saturday 7 March 2026, the formal selection has not been publicly finalised. We’ll keep translating the process - clearly and calmly - as it moves. (aljazeera.com)