FOREIGN MINISTER: IRAN’S NEXT LEADER WILL BE ELECTED BY ITS PEOPLE, NOT THE US
Read Time:1 Minute, 53 Second
By: Fasasi Hammad
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated on Sunday that the Iranian people — not Donald Trump — will choose the country’s next leader, and called on the US president to apologize for initiating the recent conflict with Iran.
“We do not allow anyone to interfere in our domestic affairs. The election of our new leader is solely for the Iranian people,” Araghchi told the media.
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his demand to have a say in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader following the death of Ali Khamenei amid the US-Israeli strike that began nine days ago.
“He’s going to need our approval,” Trump told the media. “Without it, he won’t last long.”
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Araghchi declined to comment on potential successors. Iranian state media reported that the clerical body responsible for selecting the new leader had voted, with the announcement expected soon. Some clerics have suggested Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as a candidate, a possibility Trump has rejected.
“We must wait for the Assembly of Experts to convene and elect the new supreme leader. The decision lies entirely with them,” Araghchi said.
Trump indicated he would consider a successor connected to Iran’s pre-1979 revolutionary government, stating, “There are numerous people who could qualify.”
In addition to rejecting US involvement in Iran’s succession process, Araghchi said Trump “should apologize to the people of the region and the Iranian population for the killings and destruction caused by the US.”
He defended Iranian missile strikes on Gulf neighbors during the conflict, clarifying that these attacks targeted US bases in the region, as Iran’s missiles cannot reach US soil.
“It is Americans who initiated this war against us. We are defending ourselves, so naturally our missiles cannot reach the United States,” Araghchi said.
“What we can do is target American bases and installations nearby, which unfortunately are located in neighboring countries,” he added.
Trump has claimed Iranian missiles could “soon” reach the US, although a 2025 US intelligence assessment indicated Tehran does not yet possess intercontinental ballistic missiles, with projections suggesting it could take until 2035 to develop up to 60 such weapons.
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