Trump Says He Must Have a Say in Picking Iran’s New Leader

 

by Dave DeCamp | March 5, 2026 at 12:31 pm ET | Iran

President Trump said in an interview with Axios on Thursday that he must have a say on who is chosen as Iran’s next leader following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, contradicting other administration officials who say the US’s goal is not regime change.

Trump made clear to Axios reporter Brak Ravid that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has reportedly emerged as a frontrunner to replace his father, wouldn’t be acceptable to the US.

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” the president said, referring to Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump oversees US attacks on Iran at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, March 1, 2026. (White House photo by Daniel Torok)

The US didn’t choose Rodriguez as Nicolas Maduro’s replacement, but she was the next in line as the vice president and has been willing to work with the US to stave off another attack. A much different dynamic is unfolding in Iran as the killing of Khamenei has not slowed Iran’s military response, and the country’s leadership shows no sign of backing down despite the massive US-Israeli bombing campaign, which has killed over 1,000 civilians.

Trump said that he wouldn’t accept any leader who continues Khamenei’s policies because it would result in the US launching another war within five years. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he said.

Earlier this week, Trump said that all of the people he had in mind to replace Khamenei have been killed and acknowledged that in the end, Iran’s next leader could be “as bad” as Khamenei.

“The worst case would be we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person,” he said. “That could happen. We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worst — you go through this and then in five years, you realize you put somebody in who was no better.”

https://news.antiwar.com/2026/03/05/trump-says-he-must-have-a-say-in-picking-irans-new-leader/

Trump Says He Will Only Accept Iran’s Unconditional Surrender

 

by Kyle Anzalone | March 6, 2026 at 3:07 pm ET

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the only deal he will make with Tehran is for Iran’s unconditional surrender. 

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” the President wrote on his social media account Friday. After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE.”

The statement from Trump suggests the goal for the war in Iran has moved beyond eliminating Iran’s nuclear program and military capabilities to regime change and nation-building. As a candidate, the President was a stalwart opponent of regime change wars and nation-building projects. 

While House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later appeared to walk back the President’s demands, saying that he will not require a formal surrender. “When he determines Iran no longer poses a threat to the US and Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not,” she explained to the press.

Forcing a full surrender on Iran could require months of military operations and a ground invasion. Trump has made clear he is open to deploying military forces to Iran, and the Pentagon is preparing for the conflict to last through September. 

Tehran says it is uninterested in a ceasefire or further negotiations with the US. “We are not asking for a ceasefire. And we don’t see any reason why we should negotiate with the US. When we negotiated with [the US] twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News on Thursday. “There is no request for a ceasefire from us, there is no request for negotiations from us, we have never sent any messages.”

He went on to say that Iran is prepared for a ground war with the US. Israel and the US attacked Iran on Saturday, and Iranian forces responded by striking Israel, US military bases, and other US allies in the region.

https://news.antiwar.com/2026/03/06/trump-says-he-will-only-accept-irans-unconditional-surrender/

I was told that saying Israel controls the American government was what antisemitic white nationalist say, yet here is Netanyahu saying it out loud:

 https://x.com/jimmy_dore/status/2030022031841054968

Jimmy Dore

@jimmy_dore

I was told that saying Israel controls the American government was what antisemitic white nationalist say, yet here is Netanyahu saying it out loud:

Quote

Uncommon Sense

@Uncommonsince76

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18h

“We have the senate, the congress, and a record strong Jewish lobby on our side. We have a strong influence over the general support in America.” -Benjamin Netanyahu (1980’s)

7:45 AM · Mar 7, 2026

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58.4K

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https://x.com/jimmy_dore/status/2030022031841054968