Trump says he needs to help pick Iran’s next leader and rules out ‘unacceptable’ choice

WorldPolitics
6 Mar 2026 • 12:52 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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  • President Donald Trump told Axios Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next supreme leader.
  • Trump said that Mojtaba Khamenei is the most likely successor to his late father but that this outcome is “unacceptable.”
  • His remarks came on the sixth day of the conflict between the US and Israel and Iran which has affected countries across the Middle East and beyond.
  • An additional 14 countries have now been dragged into the conflict.
  • Iran said a US tanker was on fire Thursday in the northern part of the gulf after being struck by Iranian forces, with the Revolutionary Guards warning that any vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be under Tehran’s control while the war is ongoing.

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