08.03.2026 22:43
U.S. President Donald Trump is insistent on participating in the election to determine the successor of Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks. Seyyid Ahmed Alam al-Huda, a member of Iran's 88-member Assembly of Experts, announced that Iran's new leader has been determined, while Trump stated, "If he doesn't get our approval, he won't be able to stay in office for long. We don't want to have to come back every 10 years."
US President Donald Trump addressed the US press regarding the election of a new religious leader in Iran.
NEW RELIGIOUS LEADER ELECTION IN IRAN: IF IT DOESN'T GET OUR APPROVAL, IT WON'T LAST LONG
Trump stated, "They will have to get our approval. If they don't get our approval, it won't last long. We don't want to have to revisit this every ten years. If a president like me is not in office, this could happen again. I don't want to see people having to come back in five years or, worse, that Iran is allowed to have a nuclear weapon," he said. In response to a question about whether he would be ready to approve someone with ties to Iran's former regime, Trump said, "I would. I would be ready for that to choose a good leader. There are many people with those qualities."
"THEY PLAN TO ATTACK THE ENTIRE MIDDLE EAST"
Trump, who claimed that Iran plans to take over the entire Middle East and that this is being prevented by the US, said, "Iran is a paper tiger. They weren't a paper tiger a week ago; they were going to attack. Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East and take over all of it."
HE DID NOT EXCLUDE THE SPECIAL FORCES OPTION: EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE
Following last week's announcement by US officials that Iran has enriched uranium that could be weaponized in a short time, Trump did not exclude the option of sending special forces to seize the enriched uranium in Iran, stating, "Everything is on the table. Everything."
"WE ARE AHEAD OF THE PROGRAM IN TERMS OF BOTH TIME AND LETHALITY"
Previously predicting that the war could last four to five weeks, Trump responded to the same question this time by saying, "I don't know. I can never predict. The only thing I can say is that we are ahead of the program in terms of both time and lethality."
"WE HAD TO TAKE THIS ROUNDABOUT WAY"
Describing the rise in oil prices as a "small hiccup," Trump said, "I think there is no problem. It's a small hiccup. We had to take this roundabout way. I already knew what would happen because of this roundabout way. But the good part is that we sank their 44 ships. That means all their fleets. We rendered all their air forces ineffective. We disabled all their communications and telecommunications. Their anti-aircraft systems were canceled. They have no defenses left at all. The only thing they can do is talk," he said.
"THIS IS A VERY, VERY MAGA MOVE"
Trump also rejected claims that he faced criticism from his supporters due to the war with Iran, arguing that the attack on Iran is entirely consistent with his "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) slogan used during his campaign. Trump stated, "What we are doing is a MAGA move. This is a very, very MAGA action. Because otherwise, we wouldn't have a country. We would be attacked. MAGA is completely about saving America. Right now, I am at a higher point in terms of MAGA than I have ever been."
NEW RELIGIOUS LEADER HAS BEEN DETERMINED
Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Seyyid Ahmed Alam al-Huda, a member of Iran's 88-member Assembly of Experts, announced that a new religious leader has been determined, but his name will not be disclosed for security reasons.