U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a blunt warning to Tehran, declaring that Iran’s next supreme leader may struggle to survive in power without Washington’s approval, as the Islamic Republic prepares to name a successor to the late Ali Khamenei following his reported killing in recent U.S.–Israeli strikes.
Nine days after the attack that plunged the Middle East into a rapidly expanding conflict, Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts convened behind closed doors and selected a new leader, according to members of the body.
However, the clerics have yet to reveal the identity of the chosen successor, saying the announcement will be made soon. Speculation within Iran’s political circles has centred on Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s 56-year-old son.
Trump, however, has already dismissed the possibility of Mojtaba taking over, branding him an unacceptable “lightweight.”
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump said during an interview with ABC News, referring to Iran’s next leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
Tehran swiftly rejected the remark, insisting that the choice of the supreme leader is strictly an internal matter.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on Meet the Press, warned against foreign interference and said Iran alone will decide its leadership. He also urged Trump to apologise to people across the region for what he described as escalating tensions.
Mojtaba Khamenei is widely viewed as a hardline conservative, partly because of his close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful ideological arm of Iran’s military.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned that any successor to Khamenei could become a target if hostilities continue.
Overnight, Israeli forces carried out fresh operations that underscored the widening scope of the war. Airstrikes hit fuel storage facilities in and around Tehran, while another strike targeted a hotel in Beirut believed to be housing suspected Iranian commanders.
Warplanes struck five oil facilities around the Iranian capital, killing at least four people and sending thick plumes of smoke across the city, according to a state oil executive.
Authorities said fuel distribution in Tehran was temporarily disrupted, with residents reporting a dark haze covering parts of the sprawling city of about 10 million people.
Officials also warned that fumes from the fires could be toxic, advising residents to stay indoors as the smell of burning fuel spread across several districts.
One Tehran resident said the fires had been burning for more than 12 hours, making the air difficult to breathe and forcing many people to remain inside their homes.
As the war entered its ninth day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the country has enough supplies to sustain drone and missile attacks across the region for up to six months.
Several explosions were later heard over Tel Aviv after the Israeli military detected a fresh wave of Iranian missiles. Emergency services said at least six people were injured in central Israel.
Trump also declined to rule out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, even as he insisted the war was close to being won despite ongoing missile and drone attacks.
The U.S. president also held a phone conversation with Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss military cooperation. The United Kingdom has allowed the United States to use its bases for what it described as collective self-defence operations in the region.
Meanwhile, an Iranian military spokesman said Tehran had so far deployed only first- and second-generation missiles but warned that more advanced long-range weapons could be introduced in the coming days.
