President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader will not remain in power for long unless the United States approves the selection, issuing the warning as Iran moves closer to choosing a successor to its current leadership.
Speaking in an interview with ABC News, Trump said the individual chosen to lead Iran would not be able to maintain authority without Washington’s acceptance.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” the president told ABC News. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”
Trump said his concern is preventing a situation in which the international community repeatedly faces the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
“I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse let them have a nuclear weapon.”
When asked whether he would consider approving a leader who previously had ties to Iran’s existing regime, Trump indicated he would be open to the idea if the candidate proved capable of governing responsibly.
“I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would. There are numerous people that could qualify.”
Trump also argued that Iran had been preparing to dominate the broader region before recent military developments changed the situation.
“They are a paper tiger. They weren’t a paper tiger a week ago, I’ll tell you. And they were going to attack,” he said. “Their plan was to attack the entire Middle East, to take over the entire Middle East.”
Trump said he has not ruled out the possibility of deploying American special forces to secure Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium.
“Everything is on the table. Everything.”
A senior administration official said last week that Iran has already enriched enough uranium to reach weapons-grade levels within about ten days.
According to the official, large quantities of that material are believed to be stored at nuclear facilities that were targeted during Operation Midnight Hammer, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.
“In theory, if we had physical control of that territory, if we had physical control of those places where it’s located, we could send our people in and dilute it on premise,” the official said.
Over the weekend, Trump also met with the families of six U.S. service members who were killed. When asked whether attending the dignified transfers caused him to reconsider the conflict, Trump said it did not.
“No, not at all,” he said. “The parents would be upset if I did that. The parents said to me, every one of them, please sir, win this for my boy, and in one case a young woman, as you know. Please, win this for my child.”
Reflecting on the meeting with the families, Trump described the experience as emotional but meaningful.
“It was a beautiful event. It was a beautiful, beautiful event, where I met the parents. They were devastated but proud.”
Asked about how long the conflict might continue, Trump declined to offer a specific timetable.
“I don’t know. I never predict. All I can say is we are ahead of schedule both in terms of lethality and in terms of time,” he said.
Just days earlier, Trump had suggested the conflict could conclude within four to five weeks.
During the interview, the president also brushed aside concerns about rising gasoline prices, describing the increase as temporary.
“I think it’s fine. It’s a little glitch. We had to take this detour,” he said. “I knew exactly what was going to happen with the detour. But the nice part is we sank 44 of their ships which is their entire navy. We’ve knocked out their entire AirForce. We’ve knocked out all of their communications, telecommunications. Their anti-aircraft systems are gone. They have absolutely no defense. All they have is talk.”
Although some longtime supporters have questioned aspects of the operation, Trump said he has not faced meaningful opposition from his political base.
“It’s more popular than ever. It’s a very MAGA thing what we’re doing. A very very MAGA thing,” he said. “Because otherwise we won’t have a country either, we’ll be hit. And MAGA is all about saving America … I’m at the highest point I’ve ever been with MAGA.”
{Matzav.com}
Barack Obama delivered pointed remarks about the nation’s political atmosphere during a speech Friday at the funeral of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, criticizing what he described as ongoing attacks on democratic institutions without mentioning President Donald Trump by name.
The funeral drew a wide array of prominent political and civil rights figures. Former Presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton also addressed the gathering, along with several well-known progressive leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton.
Jackson, who was 84, passed away last month after suffering from the neurodegenerative disease progressive supranuclear palsy, according to a statement from his family. The longtime activist and former Democratic presidential candidate was widely recognized for his decades of civil rights work and for helping open doors for Black political leaders, including Obama.
Obama’s remarks during the service contained sharp criticism of the country’s political climate. Both he and the other former presidents in attendance have previously been criticized by President Trump, and Obama’s comments reflected those tensions.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama said. “Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions. Another setback the idea of the rule of law. An offense to common decency.”
“Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible,” he continued. “Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other, and to turn on each other. And that some Americans count more than others. And that some don’t even count at all. Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mocker masquerading as strength.”
Later in his remarks, Obama acknowledged that such developments can make it difficult for people to remain hopeful.
“It’s hard to hope in those moments.”
He then turned to Jackson’s legacy, saying the civil rights leader’s life offered a different path forward.
“But this man, Rev. Jesse Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path. His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope,” Obama said.
Obama recently drew attention after President Trump reposted a video on social media depicting him and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, as apes. The video was later removed by the White House following criticism and complaints from both Democrats and Republicans.
Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president, spoke after him and delivered his own criticism of the current administration.
“We got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit,” Biden said, adding that Jackson “knew who we were at our best, that he simply refused to let us off the hook as a party, as a nation, or as individuals.”
Biden also reflected on Jackson’s role in pushing the country toward greater justice.
“And time and again, with triumph and turmoil, with relentless insistence on what is right and just, he helped lead us closer to fulfilling our nation’s promise of restoring the nation’s soul,” Biden said.
Bill Clinton, who awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, was also present at the service. In his remarks honoring Jackson, Clinton avoided making any direct or indirect reference to Trump.
President Trump did not attend the funeral. After Jackson’s passing, however, he issued a public message recognizing the civil rights leader while also offering criticism of Obama.
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!”
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will not accept President Donald Trump’s demand for “unconditional surrender,” declaring that the country intends to keep fighting as the conflict continues.
Speaking in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press, Araghchi said Iran will not back down and will continue defending itself. “We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes,” Araghchi said. “We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people, and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale.”
Araghchi also discussed the current structure of Iran’s leadership, explaining that the country is presently being governed by a temporary council while the Assembly of Experts prepares to select a new supreme leader.
“The council of the interim leadership council is now in charge, and they are doing their act in the absence of the leader, while a new supreme leader is going to be elected soon by the assembly of experts,” Araghchi said. “And the president and the cabinet are also in there, are doing their duties. Parliament, everything is in its place.”
When asked about speculation that the Assembly of Experts may have already chosen the next supreme leader — possibly Mojtaba Khamenei — Araghchi said the matter remains undecided and that the official process has not yet taken place.
“Nobody knows. Actually, there are lots of rumors around, but we have to wait for the assembly of experts to convene and vote for the new supreme leader and the one who is elected by them,” he said.
Araghchi also pushed back against the idea that any outside party could play a role in determining Iran’s next leader, after President Trump suggested he should select the country’s future leadership.
“We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs,” Araghchi said. “This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader. They have already elected the assembly of experts, and the assembly of experts would do the job. It is only the business of the Iranian people and nobody else’s business.”
According to Araghchi, Iran believes the war should conclude with a lasting resolution rather than a temporary ceasefire.
“There should be a permanent end of the war,” he said. “Unless we get to that, I think we need to continue fighting for the sake of our people and our security.”
When asked whether Iran would agree to a ceasefire in order to resume negotiations, Araghchi argued that the United States and Israel must first explain what he described as the origin of the conflict.
“Nobody wants to continue this war,” he said. “This is not our war. This is not the war of our choice.”
The foreign minister also addressed Iran’s missile strikes in the region, saying the intended targets were American military sites rather than neighboring countries.
“We are not attacking our neighbors,” Araghchi said. “We are attacking American bases, American installations, American assets, which are unfortunately located in the soils of our neighbors.”
He added that Iran’s president had issued an apology to people in nearby countries for the disruption caused by the conflict.
“Apology in our culture is a sign of dignity and strength,” Araghchi said, adding that the apology was directed to people in the region for “the inconveniences they have faced because of this aggression by the United States and retaliation by us.”
Araghchi was also questioned about reports suggesting Russia has assisted Iran in locating American forces.
“We have a strategic partnership with Russia,” he said. “Military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new. It’s not a secret. It has been in the past and is still there and will continue in the future.”
When pressed on whether Moscow has been sharing intelligence with Tehran, Araghchi declined to give specifics.
“They are helping us in many different directions. I don’t have any detailed information.”
Araghchi also rejected claims that Iran was responsible for a strike on an elementary school in southern Iran that reportedly killed more than 170 people.
“It is our school. These are our students, our girls, and they are attacked by an American fighter, a jet fighter, and they have been killed,” he said. “Why Iran is responsible? Have we started this war? Have we attacked our own people?”
Responding to questions about the possibility of U.S. ground forces entering Iran, Araghchi said Iranian troops are prepared to defend the country.
“For the time being, we are capable enough,” he said. “We have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enter into our soil to fight with them.”
Araghchi also dismissed claims that Iran is developing missiles capable of striking the United States, saying the country has intentionally limited the range of its missile program.
“We have intentionally limited ourselves to below 2,000 kilometers of range because we don’t want to be felt as a threat by anybody else in the world,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
The IDF announced Sunday that the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike in Tehran a day earlier that killed Abu al-Qassem Baba’iyan, a senior Iranian military figure closely tied to the country’s leadership. The operation was conducted based on precise intelligence gathered by the IDF Intelligence Directorate.
According to the IDF, Baba’iyan served as the Head of the Military Office of the Supreme Leader and as Chief of Staff of the emergency command at Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters.
Israeli officials said Baba’iyan played a key role in coordinating the activities of various military bodies within the Iranian regime responsible for planning and carrying out operations against the State of Israel, as well as overseeing emergency military responses.
The IDF said Baba’iyan had recently been appointed as the designated chief of staff for the Supreme Leader’s military office following the launch of Operation “Roaring Lion.” During the opening phase of that operation, Mohammad Shirazi, who had served as military chief of staff to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was killed.
Baba’iyan had also been named Chief of Staff of the emergency Headquarters after his predecessor, Ali Shadmani, was killed during Operation Rising Lion. In that role, he maintained close working relationships with senior Iranian military commanders and political leaders.
His death, the IDF said, is part of a broader series of targeted eliminations of senior figures within the Iranian regime since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, a campaign Israeli officials say has significantly weakened Iran’s leadership responsible for directing military operations.
{Matzav.com}A man in his 40s was seriously wounded in Tel Aviv after debris from an interceptor missile fell near a gas station during the latest round of attacks. Security camera footage documented the moment the debris struck the area.
Magen David Adom medics arrived quickly and administered emergency treatment at the scene before transporting the injured man to the emergency department at Ichilov Hospital. He sustained a neck injury and was admitted to the trauma room for continued treatment.
תיעוד הנפילה בתל אביב pic.twitter.com/AzMhMWH3Kb
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) March 8, 2026
At the same time, MDA crews were responding to several other incidents across central Israel. In total, six additional people were treated for injuries in different locations. In Petah Tikva, two individuals were among the wounded: a man in his mid-20s who was moderately injured and a 56-year-old man who suffered light injuries.
Officials said the attack involved a fragmentation missile. Fire and Rescue Services reported that in one location in central Israel, a building apparently collapsed after being struck by shrapnel from the blast.
During the same round of sirens, a separate traffic accident occurred on Route 5 near the Barkan Interchange when a truck collided with a private vehicle. MDA paramedics treated the injured at the scene before transporting two victims to Beilinson Hospital. The driver of the car, a man about 40 years old, was reported in serious condition with multiple-system injuries but remained conscious. Another person sustained light injuries.
Senior MDA medic Yehezkel Goldreich, one of the first responders to arrive at the impact site in central Israel, described what he encountered when he reached the scene:
“I was in a park near the impact when the sirens sounded. Shortly afterward there was a loud explosion. I saw thick smoke rising from the area and rushed to scan the scene. I found frightened people lying on the grass, including a man in his 40s who had suffered a severe shrapnel injury. I provided him with initial medical care on site, and together with additional MDA teams we evacuated him to the hospital, where his condition was classified as serious.”
{Matzav.com}
